Johnson Makes History With Dover Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Jimmie Johnson picked up his 11th victory at Dover International Speedway in the AAA Drive for Autism 400 on Sunday afternoon.

The race was dominated by two drivers; Kyle Larson led the most laps and Martin Truex Jr. won both stages.  Johnson had to work his way through the field after he was forced to start the race from the back of the pack, but he had worked his way up to the top 10 by the end of the first segment.

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Johnson passed Larson for the lead on the final restart, and the race ended when Ty Dillon made contact with Ryan Newman to start a big wreck coming out of turn 2.  Johnson was able to pass the overtime line entering turn 3 before the caution came out, and the race finished under yellow.

Johnson picked up his 83rd career victory, which tied him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough.  Johnson said he was excited to win while driving with a Yarborough-inspired helmet.

“I was a big Cale Yarborough fan,” Johnson said.  “To tie him at 83 wins…we just got the tribute helmet.  I wasn’t sure how quickly we’d get it done.”

Larson controlled the final restart as the leader, but he said Johnson did a better job at executing with the race on the line.

“He did what he had to do to get a fast launch like he did,” Larson said.  “He just took off better than I did.”

“He’s a seven-time champion for a reason…and he’s really good at executing.  I just got to get better at that.”

Unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Kyle Larson

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Ryan Newman

5. Chase Elliott

6. Daniel Suarez

7. Jamie McMurray

8. Denny Hamlin

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Danica Patrick

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

12. Austin Dillon

13. Matt Kenseth

14. Ty Dillon

15. Erik Jones

16. Kyle Busch

17. Kasey Kahne

18. AJ Allmendinger

19. Michael McDowell

20. Ross Chastain

21. Trevor Bayne

22. Cole Whitt

23. Chris Buescher

24. Gray Gaulding

25. Joey Logano

26. Ryan Sieg

27. Jeffrey Earnhardt

28. Timmy Hill

29. Matt DiBenedetto

30. David Ragan

31. Clint Bowyer

32. Ryan Blaney

33. Paul Menard

34. Regan Smith

35. Cody Ware

36. Landon Cassill

37. Kurt Busch

38. Brad Keselowski

39. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

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