Johnson Wins Incident-Filled Race
With five rounds to go in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Jimmie Johnson moved to a joint lead of the points standings, after winning his fourth consecutive race at Lowe's Motor Speedway
But the race was marred by tyre problems that affected half of the Chase contenders, including winner Johnson, as well as a dozen other runners.
Goodyear's tyres couldn't withstand the high speeds on the track, which was resurfaced prior to this race, leading NASCAR officials to issue a minimum air pressure mandate in the middle of the race.
Among those affected by tyre failurees were Cup leader Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne - all of which had lost the lead of the race after a tyre puncture.
"I need a renewal of my life insurance policy," Stewart told his pit crew over the radio during the race. "I just can't wait for this thing to be over so I can get out of here and hopefully not be hurt."
Stewart finished in 25th position due to his crash, while Johnson, who started the race in 41st position, made his way up to the front and claimed the lead with nine laps to go.
The win has moved Johnson three spots up in the Cup standings, while Rusty Wallace, the final victim of tyre failures, lost three positions in the points standings.
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 336 2. Kurt Busch Ford 336 3. Greg Biffle Ford 336 4. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 336 5. Mark Martin Ford 336 6. Casey Mears Dodge 336 7. Ryan Newman Dodge 336 8. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 336 9. Ricky Rudd Ford 336 10. Carl Edwards Ford 336 11. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 336 12. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 336 13. Dave Blaney Chevrolet 336 14. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 336 15. Kyle Petty Dodge 336 16. Johnny Sauter Dodge 336 17. Travis Kvapil Dodge 336 18. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 336 19. Jeff Green Dodge 336 20. Scott Wimmer Dodge 336 21. Kevin Lepage Ford 336 22. David Reutimann Chevrolet 336 23. Kasey Kahne Dodge 336 24. Rusty Wallace Dodge 336 25. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 328 26. Matt Kenseth Ford 326 27. Elliott Sadler Ford 326 28. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 291 29. Jamie McMurray Dodge 279 30. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 278 31. Dale Jarrett Ford 278 32. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 278 33. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 267 34. Ken Schrader Dodge 255 35. Mike Bliss Chevrolet 252 36. David Stremme Dodge 244 37. Stuart Kirby Chevrolet 213 38. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 151 39. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 150 40. Sterling Marlin Dodge 124 41. Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet 94 42. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 61 43. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 40 The Chase for the Cup: Pos Driver Points Change 1. Tony Stewart 5777 = 2. Jimmie Johnson 5777 +3 3. Greg Biffle 5766 = 4. Ryan Newman 5760 -2 5. Mark Martin 5726 +2 6. Carl Edwards 5723 = 7. Rusty Wallace 5685 -3 8. Jeremy Mayfield 5662 +1 9. Matt Kenseth 5653 -1 10. Kurt Busch 5635 =
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Mercedes joins Williams and RB with 'quick and cheap' F1 cockpit airflow upgrades
Alpine gets F1 spare car for first time in 2024 as lighter chassis appears in China
F1 Chinese GP: Stroll leads FP1 as small fire causes early red flag
Live: F1 Chinese GP updates – FP1 & Sprint qualifying
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments