Subscibe to our feedLate-Race Accident Relegates Johnson to 24th-Place Finish
LAS VEGAS – For the second week in a row, Team Lowe’s Racing driver Jimmie Johnson showed the strength of his Kobalt Tools Impala SS as soon as the green flag dropped on the weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race.
Johnson qualified third for the 467-mile event but led the field to green after pole sitter Kyle Busch was forced to the back due to an engine change.
Johnson led the first 50 of 285 laps before green-flag pit stops began. After those cycled through, Johnson regained the top spot, leading laps 57-75 before the day’s fourth caution flag was displayed.
When Johnson brought his No. 48 machine down pit road, crew chief Chad Knaus called for four tires, while many teams opted for two. Johnson restarted the race 10th, and spent the next 50 laps working his way toward the front.
On Lap 122, during caution number six, Knaus called Johnson in for a two-tire stop, sending him off pit road in first place. He led the next 23 circuits around the 1.5-mile track before teammate Jeff Gordon passed him on Lap 149.
Johnson continued to run in the top five for the next 70 laps and was running second when he headed to pit road for a green-flag stop on Lap 219.
Gordon was attempting a green-flag stop on the same lap but missed the entrance to pit road, locking up his tires in the process. Seconds later, Gordon’s left-front tire exploded, bringing out the 11th caution and trapping Johnson on pit road.
When the race restarted, Johnson was placed on the tail end of the lead lap, but showed dominance again by quickly passing leader Kyle Busch to get the lap back.
Finally, on Lap 258, the yellow flag was displayed for caution 12, enabling Johnson to round the track and position himself for a charge to the front. He restarted 16th on Lap 263 and moved to 10th by Lap 270 when Paul Menard brought out caution 13.
When the race resumed on Lap 279, Johnson was ready to make a dash to the front, in hopes of a top-five finish. But on Lap 281, Johnson’s Chevrolet got loose in Turn 2 and made hard contact with the outside wall.
Johnson hobbled his way down pit road where the Lowe’s crew made quick repairs and sent him back to the track. He managed to complete the last three laps to turn in a 24th place result, one lap down.
“I got down into Turn 1 on the outside of the No. 26 (Jaime McMurray) and maybe it was just a little too high and I got in the dirty stuff and just lost it,” said Johnson. “It was just unfortunate. We had the best car.”
Johnson’s finish left him 19th in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, 145 points behind Gordon, who now leads the series.
Las Vegas-native Kyle Busch won Sunday’s race. Gordon crossed the finish line sixth while Dale Earnhardt Jr. recorded a 10th-place result. Mark Martin experienced engine problems and finished 40th.