Jimmie Johnson Wins Atlanta and Gets his 76th Victory

Photo Credit - Paul Newberry AP

HAMPTON, GA – RIS – Jimmie Johnson only led 52 laps of Sunday’s 330-lap race, but he led the ones that counted.  A risky final pit stop before the last run saw Johnson coming in several laps earlier than the field and found him a lap down, but when everyone else pitted laps later, he found himself in the lead of the Folds of Honor 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Johnson led the final 45 laps for the victory.

Johnson, who tied the late Dale Earnhardt in victories with the win, had that fact slip his mind as he crossed the finish line, but remembered later and did a tribute victory lap with three fingers out his window, the ritual fans used the year Earnhardt died.  Johnson now has tied Earnhardt with 76 wins.  Only six others have won more.

"This is special for sure," said Johnson, who began his Cup career shortly after Earnhardt was killed in a wreck on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. "There was a big void in my mind not having a chance to race against him. I was literally a handful of months away from having the opportunity. To tie him today, for me personally, gives me a little bit of attachment to the great Dale Earnhardt."

Kevin Harvick led 131 laps -- more than anyone else -- but ceded the lead after he made his last green-flag pit stop nine laps after Johnson. The No. 48 car made a quicker stop and wound up with about a 14-second lead, then watched it fade away as Harvick gave chase on newer tires.

Harvick was about five seconds behind when Ryan Newman spun on the front stretch with three laps to go, which brought out only the second yellow flag of the race and forced overtime. Everyone came to the pits for new tires, and Johnson returned to the track still leading. The victory was his when a crash on the backstretch -- the only wreck of the day -- took four cars out.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. beat Kyle Busch back to the line to take second place on the day Johnson pulled even with his father.

"I think Dad would have liked Jimmie as a person, but he certainly wouldn't have enjoyed competing against him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I don't think any of us -- I love when we race door to door, but when he goes out there and he spanks you, it's not a lot of fun.

"Knowing Dad and knowing Jimmie's character, they would have gotten along tremendously, and Dad would have thought the world of him."

Johnson credited crew chief Chad Knaus for calling the early pit stop, a strategy that allowed him to get past Harvick. The No. 48 Chevrolet came to the pits six laps ahead of everyone else.

"It was definitely a gutsy call," Johnson said. "The 4 car [Harvick] was awfully tough. It was going to take strategy to get by him."

For Harvick, it was another  Atlanta heartache. He spun his tires on the final restart and wound up a disappointing sixth -- hardly indicative of the way he ran most of the race.

Harvick has led more than 100 laps in four of his past five races at the 1.54-mile speedway, but he hasn't won here since the spring event in 2001. That was just his third race after he took over at Richard Childress Racing following Earnhardt's death.

The cars set a torrid pace in the first test of a new aerodynamic package designed to promote more competitive racing. The first 210 laps were run under green before the first yellow finally came out for debris on the track.

After the restart, Harvick and Martin Truex went back and forth, exchanging the lead several times before Harvick started to pull away. It was a thrilling display, but in the end, it didn't matter. Harvick lost the lead in the pits, thereby allowing Johnson to claim his fifth Cup victory in Atlanta.

Kyle Busch, who posted the fastest time in qualifying but had to start from the back of the field after his car failed inspection, rallied to take third -- just ahead of his brother Kurt, who inherited the pole after his brother’s  penalty.

There was hardly a discouraging word about the new aero package despite a softer tire wearing out at a much quicker pace than before.  There were 28 lead changes among eight drivers, but passing was limited to how good the tires were on your car.  Five drivers [Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex, Jr.] lead all but four of the 330 laps. 

Kenseth lost two laps and any chance of winning when his pit crew was penalized for illegal fueling. NASCAR caught a crew member placing a wedge wrench on the deck lid of the No. 20 car while fueling the car, a violation of the rule that prohibits him from performing "any adjustments or other pit stop procedures while the fuel can coupler is engaged."

Kenseth didn't come in immediately while his crew argued with NASCAR officials. He wound up being black-flagged, which kept him from being scored on one lap, then lost another lap when he came in for his drive-through penalty.

That knocked him all the way back to 32nd place. He finished 19th.

While Hendrick Motorsports was celebrating have three of their drivers finishing in the Top 10, it wasn’t a good day for the other major teams.  Team Penske scored only Brad Keselowski in 9th place.  Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. finished in 10th place for Roush Fenway, and Carl Edwards joined Kyle Busch as Joe Gibbs Racing’s only top finishers. 

Unofficial Race Results: 57th Annual Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, BPts, TLd, LLd, Status
1) 19, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 330, 44, 4, 4, 52, Running
2) 16, Dale Earnhardt Jr, No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 330, 39, , , , Running
3) 39, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's 75 Toyota, 330, 39, 1, 2, 2, Running
4) 1, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet, 330, 38, 1, 3, 62, Running
5) 7, Carl Edwards, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 330, 37, 1, 1, 1, Running
6) 6, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 330, 37, 2, 9, 131, Running
7) 9, Martin Truex Jr, No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota, 330, 35, 1, 6, 34, Running
8) 24, Chase Elliott #, No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 330, 33, , , , Running
9) 17, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 AutoTrader Ford, 330, 32, , , , Running
10) 5, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford, 330, 31, , , , Running
11) 8, Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW Chevrolet, 330, 30, , , , Running
12) 26, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 330, 29, , , , Running
13) 14, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Performance Ford, 329, 28, , , , Running
14) 15, Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 329, 27, , , , Running
15) 27, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 328, 26, , , , Running
16) 12, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 328, 25, , , , Running
17) 18, Ty Dillon(i), No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, 328, 0, , , , Running
18) 21, Paul Menard, No. 27 Valvoline/Menards Chevrolet, 328, 23, , , , Running
19) 13, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, 328, 23, 1, 3, 47, Running
20) 25, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Aspen Dental Chevrolet, 328, 21, , , , Running
21) 2, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet, 328, 20, , , , Running
22) 3, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 328, 19, , , , Running
23) 11, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Panasonic Chevrolet, 328, 18, , , , Running
24) 4, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 328, 17, , , , Running
25) 23, * Ryan Blaney #, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 328, 16, , , , Running
26) 20, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 327, 15, , , , Running
27) 22, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet, 326, 14, , , , Running
28) 31, Chris Buescher #, No. 34 CSX - Play it Safe Ford, 326, 13, , , , Running
29) 35, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Sewanee-TheUniversityoftheSouth/ZAKPrdcts Toyota, 326, 12, , , , Running
30) 34, Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet, 325, 11, , , , Running
31) 10, Brian Scott #, No. 44 Twisted Tea Ford, 324, 10, , , , Running
32) 33, David Ragan, No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota, 323, 9, , , , Running
33) 32, Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Chevrolet, 323, 8, , , , Running
34) 30, Regan Smith, No. 7 Nikko RC/Toy State Chevrolet, 323, 7, , , , Running
35) 28, Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Aaron's Chevrolet, 322, 6, , , , Running
36) 29, Landon Cassill, No. 38 FR8 Auctions Ford, 321, 5, , , , Running
37) 36, * Cole Whitt, No. 98 Tweaker Energy Shot Chevrolet, 318, 5, 1, 1, 1, Running
38) 38, Jeffrey Earnhardt #, No. 32 Can-Am Ford, 313, 3, , , , Running
39) 37, * Josh Wise, No. 30 Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet, 312, 2, , , , Running

# = Rookie, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, * = non-franchise team

Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led.
Average Speed: 155.863 MPH; Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 15 Mins, 38 Secs; Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Lead Changes: 28 among 8 drivers
Cautions: 3 for 13 laps