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

Fantasy Preview: Michigan 6/15

This week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400!  Read below to see who I'm picking for this weekend's race.

Tier A
Matt Kenseth
Kenseth always runs strong on the 1.5 mile tracks, and he's due for a win.  I'm really surprised that he's gone winless this season after picking up seven victories last season.  I expect him to run strong this weekend, and maybe his winless streak will come to end.

Bench:

Photo courtesy Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Kasey Kahne

Tier B
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse is still looking for his first win, and I wouldn't be shocked if it came at a track like Michigan.  I expect him to run well this weekend and challenge for a top 10.

Martin Truex Jr.
Truex finished third in this race last year, and he's shown signs of repeating that feat this year.  He has momentum after two-straight top 10 finishes, and I expect that to continue this weekend.

Bench:
AJ Allmendinger
Greg Biffle

Tier C
Brett Moffitt
Moffitt finished 22nd in his first career Sprint Cup Series race at Dover.  Dover is an extremely hard track to debut on, and he will hopefully have an easier time at Michigan.  Michael Waltrip Racing has been strong at Michigan in the past, and that should help Moffitt have a good Top 20 run.

Bench:
Trevor Bayne

My pick to win the Quicken Loans 400 ... Matt Kenseth

Photo courtesy Kenseth family

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment with the drivers you're picking this week!

Weekly Pull List: 6/11/2014

It's time for this week's pull list!! As always, check out Comixology for the comics available this week and Comic Book Resources for any breaking comics news.

Dark Horse
Star Wars #18

DC
Batman Eternal #10
Detective Comics #32
Green Lantern Corps #32
New 52 Future's End #6

Image
The Walking Dead #128

Marvel
All-New Invaders #6

All-New Ultimates #3
All-New X-Men #28
Amazing Spider-Man #1.2

Captain Marvel #4
Deadpool #30
Hulk #4
Mighty Avengers #11
Nightcrawler #3
Original Sins #1 (of 5)
Savage Wolverine #20
She-Hulk #5
Uncanny X-Men Special #1 (One-Shot)
Wolverine #8

Be sure to pick up...

Detective Comics #28
The current Icarus storyline is really good.  It seems I say that about all the Batman books, which just goes to show how well DC's flagship character is written.  If you haven't been reading this, make sure to pick up this issue -- and the last two -- and enjoy this wonderful story.

Amazing Spider-Man #1.2
This is the second issue in the Learning to Crawl storyline.  It's been really good, and it's a pretty cool take on Peter's early time as Spider-Man.

Hulk #4
This is only the fourth issue of this series, and every single issue has had a big surprise.  Bruce Banner is brain-dead, and it is a big shock to see Hulk smash and see Dr. Banner not be smart.  It will be interesting to see where this series heads in the next few issues.

That's all for this week!  Leave a comment below with the books you're reading this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins the Pocono 400

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

 Dale Earnhardt Jr. locked himself into the Chase by picking up his second win of the season at Pocono on Sunday.

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

Earnhardt’s win in the Pocono 400 was his second victory of the season, making this his first multi-win season since 2004.

Earnhardt had to race down Brad Keselowski, who had a strong car all day.  But when Keselowski got a big piece of debris on his grille, Earnhardt took advantage.

“Well he didn’t want to let me by, but I’m not sure if his motor was going to make it,” Earnhardt said in victory lane.  “He had me beat.  We just couldn’t get to him, and it’s really hard to pass here.”

Keselowski slowed coming off Turn 2, and many believed he was slowing down to use Earnhardt to get the debris off his front end.  Earnhardt said he knew that Keselowski wouldn’t let him do that.

“Brad definitely had the better car, but I won the race,” Earnhardt said.  “It goes into the books and helps us into the Chase.  We capitalized when somebody had an issue.”

Denny Hamlin started on the pole, but Keselowski jumped out to the early lead heading into Turn 1. 

 

Keselowski led through the first round of green flag pit stops and up until the first caution came out on lap 32.  There was a small fire in the infield grass in Turn 3 where fireworks had been fired during pre-race ceremonies.

Keselowski led the field back to the green flag, and led throughout another round of green-flag stops.  The second caution came out for debris on lap 60, and Keselowski led the field back to the green flag on the following restart.

The third caution came out on lap 72 for debris.  The leader pitted under caution, and Jimmie Johnson got together with Marcos Ambrose.  Johnson spun into Ambrose’s pit stall, but was able to straighten it out and get back to his pit.  He had a lot of damage to his right-front fender, but the team was able to get it fixed without losing a lap.

Tony Stewart took the lead on the next restart, but he only led until Dave Blaney spun to bring out the caution on lap 81.

On the next restart, Kurt Busch drove around his team owner on the outside to take the lead.  He led for only five laps before Stewart got back around him for the lead.

Following a round of green-flag pit stops, Stewart cycled back around as the leader.  The caution came out again for oil on the track on lap 118, and Stewart lost the lead when he was caught speeding on pit road.

Keselowski regained the lead and led the field back to the green flag on the next restart.  A long round of green-flag pit stops began on lap 131, and they had not been completed when Danica Patrick hit the wall on lap 138 to bring out the caution.

The remainder of the field pitted under the caution, and Keselowski once again resumed the lead.

The race restarted on lap 142, but it only remained green for one lap.  Coming out of Turn 2, Kyle Busch slid into Kasey Kahne, who pounded the outside wall.  Carl Edwards slid into Kahne, knocking Kahne farther down the racetrack until his car came to a stop in Turn 3.

When the race restarted, Keselowski jumped out ahead of Earnhardt.  But when Keselowski got debris on his grille, his car began to overheat. 

With four laps to go, Keselowski tried to use the lapped car of Danica Patrick to get the debris off, but she slowed Keselowski down too much and Earnhardt was able to get around him for the lead.  Keselowski could never get close enough to Earnhardt’s back bumper to get the debris off and take the lead, and Earnhardt won his first career race at Pocono.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Kurt Busch

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Kyle Larson

6. Jimmie Johnson

7. Ryan Newman

8. Jeff Gordon

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Jamie McMurray

11. Clint Bowyer

12. Kyle Busch

13. Tony Stewart

14. Kevin Harvick

15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

16. Greg Biffle

17. Austin Dillon

18. David Ragan

19. Brian Vickers

20. Michael Annett

21. AJ Allmendinger

22. Aric Almirola

23. Casey Mears

24. Marcos Ambrose

25. Matt Kenseth

26. Paul Menard

27. Justin Allgaier

28. David Gilliland

29. Travis Kvapil

30. Cole Whitt

31. Alex Bowman

32. Ryan Truex

33. Landon Cassill

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Josh Wise

36. Timmy Hill

37. Danica Patrick

38. J.J. Yeley

39. Alex Kennedy

40. Joey Logano

41. Carl Edwards

42. Kasey Kahne

43. Dave Blaney

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the first time this season.  The Quicken Loans 400 can be seen next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST, only on TNT.

Photo courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

Fantasy Preview: Pocono 6/8

This week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to my "home track" of Pocono Raceway!! Read on to see who I'm picking this weekend.

Tier A

Courtesy NASCAR via Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson
Johnson is always strong at Pocono, and that team is firing on all cylinders right now. It would be stupid not to start him following his back-to-back victories.

Bench:
Jeff Gordon

Tier B
Tony Stewart
Stewart is strong at Pocono, and he always seems to heat up during the summer months.  He'll need to heat up fast if he wants to get a win to make the Chase, so I expect him to surprise everyone this weekend with a very strong run.

Ryan Newman
Newman has had some solid runs this season, and I expect that to continue this weekend.  I wouldn't be surprised if he can reel off a top 10 this weekend.

Bench:
Paul Menard
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Tier C
Justin Allgaier
Again, I decided to save my Tier C drivers for a little later in the season, so I'm going with someone who hopefully won't finish last.  Allgaier can easily surprise everyone with a strong run, and hopefully he'll finish inside the Top 20.

Bench:
Travis Kvapil

My pick to win the Pocono 400...Tony Stewart

Courtesy Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment below with the drivers you're picking this weekend!

Weekly Pull List: 6/4/14

It's time for the pull list! All the comics available this week can be found on Comixology, and any breaking comics news can be found on Comic Book Resources.

DC
Batman Eternal #9
Green Arrow #32
Green Lantern #32
New 52 Future's End #5

Marvel
Amazing X-Men #8
Cyclops #2
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #3
Iron Man #27
Loki Agent of Asgard #5
Magneto #5
Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man #2
Moon Knight #4
New Warriors #5
Original Sin #3 (of 8)
The Punisher #6
The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #12

Be sure to pick up...

Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man #2
This series dropped a huge bombshell at the end of the first issue: Peter Parker is back!!  How can this be?  I'm not sure.  He also is going to have to deal with the just-escaped Green Goblin, and he also wants to tell his girlfriend about his little secret.  Things are about to get complicated.

Original Sin #3
This series has been really good so far, and hopefully this issue will bring with it some answers.  He Who Holds the Eye is still on the run from the Avengers, and I believe we get to meet his boss in this issue.  The Avengers should probably think about trying to find all those crazy weapons that were stolen from the Watcher as well.  Oh well, what's the worst that could happen?



That's all for this week!  Leave a comment with the books you're picking up, and thanks for reading!

Johnson Goes Back-to-Back at Dover

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jimmie Johnson returned to victory lane at Dover after winning the FedEx 400 on Sunday.

Johnson’s victory was his second of the season, and his second-consecutive victory.  It was also his record eighth victory at Dover.  He won in dominating fashion, leading 272 of 400 laps.

 

Photo courtesy Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“It is incredible,” Johnson said in victory lane. “Thankful for this awesome race team and an awesome car.  Happy to get the job done today.”

Following last week’s victory, Johnson and his team said they would be strong again this weekend.

“We’d been getting closer, and we got a new generation car that Chad [Knaus] had a lot of faith in and we got the job done,” Johnson said.

Brad Keselowski won the pole and started first, but he didn’t stay there long. Kyle Busch took the lead in the first corner to assume his familiar position at the front.  Busch was looking to sweep the weekend after winning the Truck race on Friday and the Nationwide race on Saturday.

Busch led until the first caution came out on lap 65 when Alex Bowman hit the wall.

Busch led the field back to the green flag, and he had to race hard with Johnson for the lead.  Johnson finally reeled Busch in and took the lead for the first time on lap 82.

On lap 126, Busch got together with Clint Bowyer to bring out the caution.  Bowyer cut up in front of Busch, running him into the wall and ending his day.  Under the caution, Busch chased Bowyer on the track before being forced to go to the garage by NASCAR.

The race restarted on lap 132, and Johnson led the field back to the green flag.  The race did not stay green for long, as the caution came back out on lap 135.  AJ Allmendinger got loose passing Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Allmendinger got into Greg Biffle.  Biffle and Stenhouse got together and spread debris all over the track.

The damage to McMurray's car. (Photo courtesy @MRNRadio)

Following a short red flag, Johnson led the field back to the green on lap 141, but Kevin Harvick was able to outrun Johnson on the restart to take the lead.

On lap 159, Jamie McMurray hit a piece of concrete that came off the track and got into the wall.  NASCAR stopped the race and fixed the track during a 22-minute red flag delay.

Harvick led the field back to the green flag, but he suddenly slowed and had to pit with a flat tire.  That gave the lead to Matt Kenseth.

Johnson was able to take the lead away from Kenseth on lap 178, and he ran away from the field.  He was able to hold off the rest of the field over the course of two more cautions and another round of green-flag pit stops.

The caution came out on lap 361 for debris.  Johnson led the field down pit road, but Bowyer took only two tires and he took the lead.

Bowyer led the field back to the green flag on lap 367, but Johnson blew around him on the outside to take the lead for the final time.

The final caution came out on lap 393 for debris left on the track after Casey Mears blew a tire.   Johnson stayed out during the caution, and he led the field back to the green flag.

Johnson raced hard with Keselowski for the lead, as Keselowski drove it hard into the corners to try and take the lead.  He couldn’t find a way around Johnson, who quickly ran away from the rest of the field to win the race.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Matt Kenseth

4. Clint Bowyer

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Tony Stewart

8. Joey Logano

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

10. Paul Menard

11. Kyle Larson

12. Aric Almirola

13. Jamie McMurray

14. Carl Edwards

15. Jeff Gordon

16. Marcos Ambrose

17. Kevin Harvick

18. Kurt Busch

19. Kasey Kahne

20. Austin Dillon

21. AJ Allmendinger

22. Brett Moffitt

23. Danica Patrick

24. Reed Sorenson

25. Casey Mears

26. Justin Allgaier

27. Cole Whitt

28. Josh Wise

29. David Gilliland

30. Blake Koch

31. Ryan Newman

32. Ryan Truex

33. Dave Blaney

34. Landon Cassill

35. Michael Annett

36. David Ragan

37. David Stremme

38. Greg Biffle

39. J.J. Yeley

40. Alex Bowman

41. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

42. Kyle Busch

43. Brian Vickers

Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the mountains of Pennsylvania for the first of two races at Pocono Raceway.  The Pocono 400 is next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST, only on TNT.

Photo courtesy Team Lowe's Racing Facebook Page