Johnson Wins Third of Season at Michigan

BROOKLYN, MI – RIS – Jimmie Johnson might have had a slow start, but the six-time champion is red hot now.  Johnson won his third race in claiming victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.  Johnson only led 39 of the 200 laps, but in the end he used fuel strategy to win and stay strong.  It was the first career win for Johnson at MIS, a track where he has always wanted to bring home a win so close to the manufacturers’ homes.

“Yeah, it has been tough. We have figured out every way to lose this race. And today we were able to get it done.”

Kevin Harvick finished second, Brad Keselowski third, Paul Menard fourth, and Kasey Kahne was fifth.

Johnson had finished in the top five four times previously at Michigan, including a second-place showing in August 2011. He lost in August 2012 when his engine faltered with six laps remaining.

Johnson led after 164 laps Sunday before stopping to pit and giving up the lead. He was back in front with about 10 laps to go following a cycle of pit stops by other drivers, and the No. 48 Chevy led by a comfortable margin down the stretch.

Hendrick had four drivers in the top seven.

Johnson is trying for his seventh Cup title, which would tie the mark shared by Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt. This was Johnson's 69th career victory, and he's the first driver with three wins in 2014.

There are now only four tracks on the current schedule where Johnson has never won -- Kentucky, Watkins Glen, Chicagoland and Homestead-Miami.

It's the third time Hendrick has won five straight races. The team accomplished the feat twice in 2007, including a six-race streak.

1 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 200 47 4 130.7 $205,661 Running 4 39
2 1 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 200 44 2 135.1 $196,118 Running 6 63
3 6 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 200 42 1 113.9 $153,393 Running 3 4
4 5 27 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet 200 40 105.8 $136,349 Running
5 13 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 200 40 1 85.9 $121,250 Running 1 1
6 2 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet 200 39 1 117.2 $140,526 Running 2 36
7 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/Superman Chevrolet 200 38 1 106.2 $103,590 Running 1 1
8 12 42 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet 200 37 1 89.7 $121,460 Running 1 2
9 9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 200 36 1 117.3 $129,056 Running 2 29
10 15 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota 200 34 92.0 $128,256 Running
11 26 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 200 34 1 94.1 $126,473 Running 1 1
12 11 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet 200 33 1 95.6 $129,404 Running 2 4
13 8 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 200 32 1 96.8 $91,090 Running 1 16
14 21 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 200 31 1 83.5 $134,901 Running 1 2
15 24 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 200 29 77.6 $98,715 Running
16 17 51 Justin Allgaier # CSS USA Airflow Systems Chevrolet 200 28 79.6 $115,523 Running
17 27 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 200 27 68.1 $96,365 Running
18 28 12 Juan Pablo Montoya SKF Ford 200 26 72.4 $84,265 Running
19 23 21 Trevor Bayne(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 200 0 68.4 $87,665 Running
20 18 16 Greg Biffle 3M Military Salute Ford 200 24 68.0 $129,415 Running
21 37 7 Michael Annett # Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 199 23 53.5 $103,098 Running
22 25 47 AJ Allmendinger Charter Chevrolet 199 22 60.6 $100,773 Running
23 22 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford 199 21 57.0 $101,865 Running
24 31 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 199 20 56.5 $105,723 Running
25 20 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford 199 19 61.5 $112,685 Running
26 32 38 David Gilliland Long John Silver's Ford 198 18 51.5 $102,937 Running
27 30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. EcoPower Oil Ford 198 17 51.7 $120,915 Running
28 42 26 Cole Whitt # Speed Stick Gear Toyota 198 16 42.1 $84,840 Running
29 29 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 198 15 61.2 $92,640 Running
30 19 3 Austin Dillon # Dow Chevrolet 197 15 1 74.9 $130,801 Running 1 2
31 4 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 197 13 73.5 $121,201 Running
32 40 36 Reed Sorenson Theme Park Connection Chevrolet 197 12 36.6 $82,315 Running
33 38 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 197 11 42.9 $81,240 Running
34 34 66 Brett Moffitt Toyota Let's Go Places Toyota 197 10 44.0 $89,140 Running
35 39 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC Brakleen Chevrolet 197 0 36.9 $80,975 Running
36 35 44 JJ Yeley(i) All City Leasing & Warehousing Chevrolet 197 0 30.0 $80,920 Running
37 16 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet 196 7 33.2 $108,768 Running
38 33 34 David Ragan Taco Bell Ford 196 6 44.3 $84,070 Running
39 36 33 David Stremme Little Joe's Auto Chevrolet 195 5 29.9 $72,070 Running
40 41 23 Alex Bowman # Dr.Pepper Toyota 169 4 33.9 $68,070 Accident
41 14 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 169 3 74.6 $111,911 Running
42 10 55 Brian Vickers Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 110 2 25.5 $92,145 Running
43 43 32 Travis Kvapil Keenparts.com/Corvetteparts.net Ford 23 1 28.8 $56,570 Accident