Sunday, June 15, 2014

Jimmie Johnson Wins First Career Race at Michigan

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jimmie Johnson won his third race of the season Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images
The win was Johnson’s first career victory at Michigan, which is surprising considering how many wins the six-time champion has.

“We’ve figured out every way to lose this race and today we got it done,” Johnson said.

Johnson led 39 laps on his way to victory on Sunday.  The race put the cars and engines to the test, with speeds reaching well over 200 mph.

“This was an awesome performance,” Johnson said.  “Great power under the hood. A fantastic racecar.”

Kevin Harvick started on the pole after posting the fastest qualifying speed in NASCAR history.  Coming through Turns 3 and 4, Brian Vickers slid through the corner and spun down the track.  He was drilled by Travis Kvapil in the infield to bring out the first caution.

When the race restarted on lap seven, they only made it through Turn 2 before the caution came back out. Kyle Larson spun in the front of the field, and Kasey Kahne also spun during the incident.

The race restarted on lap 12, and Harvick was able to pull away with the lead.  Jeff Gordon ran him down and passed him for the lead on lap 19.

Green flag stops began on lap 40, and Gordon had cycled back around as the leader by lap 45.  He led until Harvick ran Gordon back down for the lead on lap 57.

The caution came out on lap 73 for debris, and Johnson won the race off pit road following pit stops.
He led the field back to the green flag on lap 79, but Joey Logano quickly took the lead.  Johnson retook the lead on lap 92 after chasing Logano down on the high side.

David Ragan spun on lap 103 to bring out the caution once again.  Kevin Harvick took the lead during pit stops, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 108.

On lap 110, Alex Bowman got into the wall to bring out another quick caution.  

Harvick led the field back to the green flag on lap 114, but Brett Moffitt spun in Turn 3 to bring out the caution again.

Harvick led on the lap 120 restart, but the caution quickly came out again on lap 122.  Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola got together in Turn 3 and spun on the track.

On lap 128, Logano got around Harvick when the race restarted and took the lead.  He led until Harvick chased him back down on lap 142.

The final caution of the day came out on lap 148 for debris.

The race restarted on lap 152, and Johnson blew by Jamie McMurray for the lead.  The leaders were then forced to make green-flag pit stops for the final time, with Johnson giving up the lead on lap 166.

When the final set of leaders pitted on lap 192, Johnson inherited the lead and he was able to pull away from Harvick to take the win.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Paul Menard
5. Kasey Kahne
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8. Kyle Larson
9. Joey Logano
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Tony Stewart
12. Jamie McMurray
13. Kurt Busch
14. Matt Kenseth
15. Ryan Newman
16. Justin Allgaier
17. Danica Patrick
18. Juan Pablo Montoya
19. Trevor Bayne
20. Greg Biffle
21. Michael Annett
22. AJ Allmendinger
23. Carl Edwards
24. Casey Mears
25. Marcos Ambrose
26. David Gilliland
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Cole Whitt
29. Denny Hamlin
30. Austin Dillon
31. Aric Almirola
32. Reed Sorenson
33. Josh Wise
34. Brett Moffitt
35. Landon Cassill
36. J.J. Yeley
37. Martin Truex Jr.
38. David Ragan
39. David Stremme
40. Alex Bowman
41. Kyle Busch
42. Brian Vickers
43. Travis Kvapil

Next Sunday, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota-Save Mart 350.

Photo courtesy Jason Miller/Getty Images

No comments:

Post a Comment