NASCAR Charlotte: Jimmie Johnson advances in 2016 Chase with victory
Jimmie Johnson ended a 24-race winless streak with victory at Charlotte in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup, postponed to Sunday after Hurricane Matthew struck
Having started from 11th, Johnson managed to cement himself in the Round of Eight for the first time in the current Chase era, with a faultless race on his home track.
Matt Kenseth took second place as he avoided the late aggressive driving and harsh tyre wear.
Starting from last, Kenseth also managed to overcome a penalty accrued on pit road for having too many men over the pit wall. He narrowly missed out on victory as Johnson jumped him on the final restart of the race.
Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
A 12-car wreck and a red flag, triggered by excessive bump-drafting from Martin Truex Jr on Austin Dillon, rearranged the pack behind Johnson on a late restart.
Truex later faced a clutch failure as he restarted, ending his fine run of form. This left five Chase drivers finishing below 30th place in a Chase round for the first time since 2007.
The drivers, though not in the running for Chase Cup victory, showed blistering pace in the closing laps. Kahne, on the slower, less grippy inside line, was overtaken by Kenseth late on.
Two of the 12 remaining Chase drivers faced significant issues before that red flag: polesitter Kevin Harvick's oil pump failed, joined by Joey Logano in the garage, who hit the wall three times due to tyre problems.
Tyre abrasion was exacerbated in the early stages as the hurricane had washed away any residual rubber, leaving a slick surface.
RESULT
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 |
2 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 334 |
3 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 |
4 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
5 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
6 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 334 |
7 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 334 |
8 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
9 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
10 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
11 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
12 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 334 |
13 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 334 |
14 | Michael McDowell | Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 334 |
15 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 334 |
16 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 334 |
17 | Clint Bowyer | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 |
18 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 334 |
19 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 334 |
20 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 333 |
21 | Regan Smith | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 333 |
22 | Brian Scott | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 333 |
23 | David Ragan | BK Racing | Toyota | 331 |
24 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 330 |
25 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 329 |
26 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 328 |
27 | Cole Whitt | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 327 |
28 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 321 |
29 | Josh Wise | The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 320 |
30 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 308 |
31 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 307 |
32 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 258 |
33 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 258 |
34 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 258 |
35 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 257 |
36 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 254 |
37 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 252 |
38 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 155 |
39 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 61 |
40 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 61 |
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