Subscibe to our feedTeam Lowe's Racing Dominates at Dover
Jimmie Johnson dominated Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Dover International Speedway, starting from the pole and leading 271 of 400 laps on the way to his 44th-career victory.
When the green-flag waved over the one-mile concrete oval, Johnson immediately reported a much more “stable” Lowe’s Chevrolet from the previous day’s practice. While he had to work with a loose car early in the race, Johnson never fell below 11th and quickly worked his way back to the front.
Click here to see photos from the AAA 400 at Dover
“Qualifying Friday went really, really well for us,” said Johnson. “Yesterday, we could post a decent lap, and I could slide the car around the corner and run some okay times. But I was a little nervous yesterday after practice, and knew that we needed to build some comfort in the car. If I was in traffic, I was going to really have my hands full.”
“Last night we went through some options and talked about changes,” explained Johnson. “After that Chad worked on a few ideas and talked with Greg Ives and got back with me later in the night. The suggestions he mentioned just kind of hit something in my stomach, and just hit me inside like that is what I need. …So I woke up this morning very optimistic. And by about lap two or three I knew we had a very balanced car, and we'd be competitive all day long, get a solid finish.
"I wasn't sure it would go as well as it did and lead as many laps and all that kind of thing. But I had a good sign, good indication early that we were going to be competitive.”
Johnson ended up leading the 400-lap race three times for a total of 271 laps, including from Lap 176 to 400.
“You know, obviously it was a great day for us,” said crew chief Chad Knaus. “Jimmie did a fantastic job. He really manned up today. He did a really, really good job of handling the car. The thing that's always encouraging to me is everybody pictures Jimmie as a calm guy and very fluid with the steering wheel, and very fluid with his inputs. I think he really enjoys coming here because this is a place you have to get up on the wheel, and chew on the steering wheel and be aggressive, and tell the car what to do.”
“It was all Jimmie today,” added Knaus. “Pit crew did a solid job. We did a decent job making adjustments, but it wound up in Jimmie's hands. He made it fantastic.”
The win moves Johnson to a tie with Bill Elliott for 14th on NASCAR’s All-Time Wins list.
“That's so cool,” said Johnson. “It really, really is. I can remember growing you and watching Bill in that No. 9 car. And to be able to be that high in the record books and to be with the greats in the sport, it means a lot to me. It's something that I really never thought would take place, and it's something I'm experiencing now and the emotions and the thoughts that come with.
“So it's a great honor. An exciting thing for me is I feel like there is a lot of racing left in me and a lot of competitive racing. I can keep climbing that ladder and be higher up there in the record books.”
Johnson’s five wins at Dover also tie him with David Pearson for victories at the track, behind Richard Petty and Bobby Allison who each have seven. Additionally, he has the most Dover wins of any active driver. Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have four each.
“We're just going to have to do what we can,” said Johnson. “There is no free lunch in this sport, and especially racing Mark Martin. You're going to have to earn every point. And you know, we've closed up a little bit on him today. There's eight more to go."
“I'm excited to see that we've gapped some of the other chase contenders,” continued Johnson. “Might not be exciting for the fans and everybody else, but the bigger gap we can put between us and those guys to single out the cars, the easier my job is. That's what I hope we can keep doing.”
Martin followed Johnson to the finish line to finish second. Matt Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
Next weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway will be the third of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Johnson is the defending race winner of that event.
Coverage begins Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC.