Subscibe to our feedJohnson Finishes 4th in Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Jimmie Johnson earned his fourth top-five finish in as many weeks Saturday night by crossing the finish line fourth at Phoenix International Raceway.
He finished third, first and second at Bristol, Martinsville and Texas, respectively.
Johnson started the 312-lap race 10th, but fought a loose race car early. As the evening went on and the sun set over the track, Johnson’s Lowe’s Chevrolet got better and he was able to tick off times close to the leader.
But a lug nut issue on pit road was the setback Johnson didn’t need while seeking a fourth-consecutive win at the one-mile oval.
“We had some issues with lug nuts falling off due to the glue that was used,” explained Johnson. “Every time we would make up a bunch of spots and get up there in the thick of things, we would come down pit road and have a problem with those lug nuts falling off.”
“We drove up to the top-five, top-three a few times, came down pit road and had something going wrong,” added Johnson. “It happened like three times. Track position is so important here. I'd work my way all the way back up there and then it would happen again.”
Johnson fell as far as 26th but managed to drive back to a fourth-place finish, allowing him to remain second in the driver standings, and almost halving his point deficit to leader Jeff Gordon.
"We had a decent car at the start, it maybe faded a little, but after that we were really strong,” said Johnson. “That time we got up to fourth I really think we had a shot at winning if we didn’t have the lug nut issue, but this is racing and everything and anything will happen. Fourth is where we ended up.”
“At the end of the day, it was a good day in the points,” continued Johnson. “We fought hard for it all night. It says a lot to have a great race car like we did and pass that many cars. It is too bad we didn't get our fourth, but our teammate got a victory.”
Hendrick Motorsports grabbed its sixth straight win at Phoenix International Raceway with Mark Martin picking up the victory. It was Martin’s first win since Kansas in 2005.
Hendrick Motorsports has also won the last three races – Martinsville (Johnson), Texas (Gordon) and Phoenix (Martin).
The Sprint Cup Series will travel to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend for the second restrictor-plate race of the season.
The April 26 event will be broadcast live on FOX beginning at 1 p.m. ET.