Johnson Runs Away and Hides in Final Laps at Atlanta

Credit: K. Liles/ USA Today

HAMPTON, GA – RIS – Starting 27th had little effect on Jimmie Johnson.  The six-time champion moved up through the field, taking the lead for the first time on lap 198 (of 325).  From then on, it was light’s out, as he dominated the field, finishing 1.802 seconds ahead of second place finisher Kevin Harvick.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished third, Joey Logano was fourth, and Matt Kenseth was fifth.

It was the 71st victory of Johnson's career, and his fourth at the 1.54-mile track south of Atlanta. It also gives him an almost-certain spot in the season-ending Chase, going for a title that would tie him with Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.

"It's pretty much a lock," Johnson said. "That takes a ton of pressure off."

After a big crash on lap 305 brought out the red flag for 9 minutes to clean up the mess, Johnson found himself at the front of the pack. When the green flag waved, he got a good jump off the line, fended off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Earnhardt going down the backstretch, and was firmly in control by the time the cars came back around in front of the stands.

Johnson was among four former champions, along with teammate Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth, who never got on the track during qualifying. Thirteen cars were stuck in the garage after failing to pass inspection, a situation that Gordon called "embarrassing" for the sport.

Harvick, who qualified on the outside of the front row, also was sent to the back of the field after blowing an engine during Saturday's practice. He quickly worked his way through slower cars, got to the front and dominated long stretches of the race, leading a race-high 116 laps.

For much of the day, it was clean race despite a new rules package for non-restrictor plate races, which reduced horsepower and drag while giving drivers a device to adjust the car's balance during the race, but then the race, which had a total of 11 cautions, turned ugly.

The first big crash came on lap 258, taking out Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray. Then, on lap 305, Greg Biffle clipped Joe Nemechek going into the third turn, gobbling up four other cars and bringing out the red flag.

Hamlin started a four-car melee when he got sideways coming out of turn two off a restart. Gordon took the biggest blow, sliding off the inside of the track and smashing into an exposed inside wall -- just beyond a SAFER barrier that would've eased the blow.

Track officials had increased the amount of padding in Atlanta after Kyle Busch smashed headfirst into an unprotected wall during an Xfinity Series race in Daytona, leaving him with a broken right leg and left foot. Busch missed his second straight Cup race, recovering at home while substitute David Ragan finished 18th in the No. 18 car, two laps down.

"It wasn't going to be too bad, but I found the one spot where there's no SAFER barrier," said Gordon, who wasn't injured. "I can't believe that. Hopefully, soon, they'll get that fixed."

Newman was the only driver in the crash able to continue. Hamlin, who led 14 laps, took the blame.

"I apologize to all those cars involved," he said. "I just lost the handle on that last run."

Gordon was making his final appearance at Atlanta, the track where he began his Cup career at the end of the 1992 season. The four-time champion, who plans to retire at the end of the season, is off to a rough start in his farewell tour after winning the pole for the Daytona 500. He finished 33rd in the season opener, where he was also caught up in a wreck, and ended up 41st in Atlanta.

The start of the race was delayed nearly an hour to allow the track to dry after morning showers.

While the rain held off the rest of the way, the temperature was chilly-- 43 degrees when the green flag waved under low, thick clouds. Not surprisingly, the stands were not even half full, another blow for one of NASCAR's most historic tracks, which hasn't come close to selling out in recent years and even took down a large section of seats in the third turn before this race.

Atlanta once hosted two events a year, including the Cup finale, and even after losing its spring race still held a prime spot on the Labor Day weekend. But attendance woes led to the track's only race being shifted to the second week of the season, while north Georgia is still in grips of winter. The result was predictable: cold temperatures and poor crowds all weekend.

The fate of Atlanta Motor Speedway is similar to North Carolina Motor Speedway, the track in Rockingham, N.C. that closed for poor attendance.  The track often was the second race on the schedule and was plagued by bad weather.  Eventually this may become Atlanta’s fate.

One driver who will not vote for that fate is winner Johnson.  He’s won at Atlanta four times.  Another is second-place finisher Harvick, who has dominated Xfinity Series races here for three consecutive years. 

The Series next heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 8th.  The weather will be warmer and the crowd and race will hopefully be better.

 Unofficial Results:

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 37 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 325 47 4 126.7 $335,901 Running 6 92
2 2 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John's Budweiser Chevrolet 325 44 2 131.2 $284,080 Running 6 116
3 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 325 42 1 120.4 $184,755 Running 1 1
4 1 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 325 41 1 126.9 $198,838 Running 5 84
5 36 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 325 40 1 97.6 $170,891 Running 2 10
6 14 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet 325 38 103.2 $150,615 Running
7 11 47 AJ Allmendinger Better Than Bouillon Chevrolet 325 37 86.6 $152,278 Running
8 22 55 Brett Moffitt Aaron's 60th Anniversary Dream Machine Toyota 325 37 1 77.5 $144,284 Running 1 1
9 12 2 Brad Keselowski Detroit Genuine Parts Ford 325 36 1 96.0 $159,261 Running 1 2
10 7 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 325 34 93.9 $144,720 Running
11 23 43 Aric Almirola Fresh from Florida Ford 325 33 82.1 $148,746 Running
12 5 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota 325 32 105.7 $107,285 Running
13 13 27 Paul Menard Duracell/Menards Chevrolet 325 31 79.0 $118,085 Running
14 10 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 324 30 99.1 $122,985 Running
15 21 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 324 29 74.5 $132,943 Running
16 18 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 324 28 70.4 $115,760 Running
17 38 41 Regan Smith(i) Haas Automation Chevrolet 324 0 61.0 $120,460 Running
18 17 18 David Ragan M&M's Crispy Toyota 323 26 78.1 $146,651 Running
19 29 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 323 25 63.4 $145,510 Running
20 16 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 323 24 63.2 $126,593 Running
21 8 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford 323 23 60.7 $129,480 Running
22 26 38 David Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 322 23 1 50.6 $121,868 Running 1 1
23 42 7 Alex Bowman Nikko/Toy State Chevrolet 322 21 53.4 $110,982 Running
24 25 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota 321 21 1 73.9 $134,768 Running 1 1
25 19 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 320 19 60.4 $130,843 Running
26 6 42 Kyle Larson Energizer Chevrolet 320 18 76.3 $127,018 Running
27 24 95 Michael McDowell Thrivent Financial Ford 320 17 43.8 $95,310 Running
28 31 62 Brendan Gaughan(i) A-S Medication Solutions Chevrolet 320 0 40.1 $97,785 Running
29 32 33 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet 319 15 37.0 $97,510 Running
30 39 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 319 14 52.6 $126,074 Running
31 27 32 Mike Bliss(i) Rimrock Design Ford 318 0 36.7 $96,710 Running 2 2
32 33 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 318 12 31.4 $94,035 Running
33 28 34 Joe Nemechek(i) CSX Play It Safe Ford 318 0 39.2 $93,860 Running 1 1
34 30 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr. Pepper Toyota 316 0 30.4 $93,710 Running
35 40 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Fantasy Sports App Toyota 316 9 30.5 $95,035 Running
36 20 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 302 8 53.8 $101,370 Accident
37 41 35 Cole Whitt Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters Ford 295 7 42.5 $93,204 Engine
38 4 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 284 7 1 93.0 $111,105 Running 2 14
39 15 3 Austin Dillon DOW Chevrolet 282 5 44.4 $120,801 Running
40 3 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet 256 4 73.4 $110,356 Accident
41 35 24 Jeff Gordon 3M Chevrolet 256 3 71.3 $124,401 Accident
42 34 30 Ron Hornaday Jr. Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 187 2 24.8 $71,865 Rear Gear
43 43 40 Landon Cassill(i) Snap Fitness Chevrolet 92 0 37.6 $68,365 Engine 

Ron Fleshman and John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the midle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2015, Issue 3, Posted 7:59 PM, 03.01.2015