Johnson plays fuel strategy and wins at Phoenix
Quote selected text Published April 12th, 2008 in NASCAR News
Jimmie Johnson gave Hendrick Motorsports its first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the year, winning a fuel gamble Saturday night at Phoenix International Speedway.
As leader after leader dove for the pits to take on gas in the waning laps, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet stayed on track and the two-time reigning Cup champion made it to the finish, beating Clint Bowyer — another gambler — by 7.002 seconds.
Forty-nine-year-old Mark Martin, now a part-time driver in the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 8, battled at the front with its former driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., for a lot of the 312-lap race on the mile oval.
And it appeared Martin had his first win since 2005 locked up after he passed Earnhardt for the win on lap 272 and began to pull away, building leads of more than a second. But, with the end in sight, Martin was called into the pits on lap 301, giving up the top spot to Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet.
With crew chief Chad Knaus telling him to keep conserving gas and that he had a big enough lead to slow down and save more, Johnson stayed on track and stayed in front to the end.
“I ran out of gas on the backstretch,” Johnson said, grinning. But he still had enough left for a celebratory burnout after taking the checkered flag.
“We’re back. We’ve been working very hard to get back. I couldn’t be more proud of the folks back at Hendrick Motorsports.”
More at orlandosentinel.com
RESULTS:
FIN, ST, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, PTS/BNS, LAPS, STATUS
1 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 195/10 312 Running
2 24 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 170/0 312 Running
3 16 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota March of Dimes / FedEx Kinko’s 165/0 312 Running
4 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 160/0 312 Running
5 4 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet Army Reserve 100th Anniv. / U.S. Army 160/5 312 Running
6 39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 150/0 312 Running
7 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 151/5 312 Running
8 9 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 142/0 312 Running
9 18 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 138/0 312 Running
10 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Snickers 134/0 312 Running
11 30 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 130/0 311 Running
12 34 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 127/0 311 Running
13 11 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Nicorette / DuPont 124/0 311 Running
14 36 38 David Gilliland Ford Yates Racing 121/0 311 Running
15 15 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 118/0 311 Running
16 8 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 115/0 311 Running
17 26 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 112/0 311 Running
18 17 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Reese’s 109/0 311 Running
19 31 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 106/0 311 Running
20 14 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 103/0 311 Running
21 12 20 Tony Stewart Toyota Subway / Home Depot 100/0 311 Running
22 25 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 97/0 310 Running
23 35 7 Robby Gordon Dodge MAPEI / Menards 94/0 310 Running
24 32 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Ford. Drive one. 91/0 310 Running
25 40 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 88/0 310 Running
26 28 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 85/0 310 Running
27 33 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 82/0 310 Running
28 10 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 79/0 310 Running
29 23 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 76/0 310 Running
30 21 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit 73/0 309 Running
31 19 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 70/0 309 Running
32 43 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 67/0 309 Running
33 37 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge LifeLock 64/0 308 Running
34 29 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 61/0 307 Running
35 38 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 58/0 298 Running
36 5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 55/0 273 Running
37 42 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 52/0 271 Running
38 27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT NANO Technology 49/0 269 Running
39 22 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 46/0 224 Running
40 41 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row/ DenverMattress.com 43/0 208 Running
41 2 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley Tools 40/0 161 Out of Race
42 20 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Glad 37/0 144 Out of Race
43 1 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 39/5 134 Out of Race
* Denotes Rookie
- Shouldn’t 15th place earn more prize money than 38th?? Not in NASCAR
- Top 12 Chase for the Cup heading into Phoenix
- Sonoma: Dodge teams race quotes
- Sadler’s #19 to run Siemens colors at Phoenix in November
- Sonoma: Ford teams race quotes
haha, I knew he’d be back. And when it comes to Johnson….wins breed wins….
Yeah, Trey, but what does a lucky win breed? To say that they’re “back” because they won a race on a fuel mileage gamble would be like saying that Petty Enterprises is back if Kyle could ever manage to qualify for a race! Sure, HMS is looking better lately, but they’re nowhere near back to the form they were in last year.
I only caught about half the race and it was in bits in pieces (neighbor’s kid spent the night at our house last night) but the half of it I saw seemed to be pretty competitive. Dunno what was wrong with Jr, but he looked like he was going to cry when they interviewed him last night…
It don’t matter how you win a race . the only lap that counts is the last one…Sure hope Nascar don’t change that…..
Wining on fuel millage is like kissing your sister. It does not mean a thing.
Jimmy did not prove to have a top 5 car just one that could run to the end on gas with some one in his ear telling him how to drive it every 500ft.
When the 48 wins a race for REAL then come back and whoo ha about it !!!
I hate races that end on fuel mileage, its like a kicker kicking a field goal in the last 5 seconds of a football game to win for a team that should have lost based on performance over 4 quarters.
Are you serious gonesouthern? He only LED OVER HALF THE RACE and was in the Top 5 for damn near the entire day…but Jimmie didn’t prove he had a Top 5 car all night? As a matter of fact, the only time he wasn’t in the Top 5 was when he got off schedule in pit stops…which he fought back from passing almost the entire field to come back for the win. Your team got outsmarted last night by the dominant car, deal with it.
What? He led over 100 laps….. How did he not prove he was a top 5 car? Get over it. Jimmie is the man.
And Jr. just about cried like a little “youngin” last night.
Did they interview JR instead of the 2nd & 3rd place finishers…? How Pathetic, 2nd & 3rd get in trouble if they do not stay by their car to get interviewed, and the tv crew doesn’t even interview them……
I was thinking the same thing….Jr. finished 7th…they usually only interview the top 5.
Congrats to Jimmie…and so what if it was on fuel mileage…Jr. nation wouldn’t have had a problem if Jr. had won this way!
Hmm lets see, why did they interview Dale Jr, maybe it was because he pretty much had a dominant car aswell, leading the second most laps, and pretty much being the man to beat after johnson had his miscue with the pits…”crying like a youngllin” hardly the case, more like i dunno maybe frustration, look it up, leading with 40 to go, out run mark martin and the 8 car the pit stop before, then have your tires go away during the final stretch of the race, i think you would be frustrated as well. Now why did they not interview the 2nd place car, unlike jimmie johnson who ran up front and led the most laps, clint bowyer was a mediocre 10-15th place car..What was he going to say in the interview, yea my RCR engineering guys gave me a great car on fuel mileage, performed like shit during the rest of the race. And finally, im not so sure its “Jr nation” complaining about the fuel mileage case. So i think the majority of race fans, before bringing up the charge that its always Dale Jr’s fans complaining, need to stop and think for a moment about how ridiculous you as a person look for trying to start something among RACE FANS.
it’s sickening how dale jr gets interviewed no matter where he finishes
A WIN IS A WIN IS A WIN ,jeez it does not matter how you got it, it you want to question how he won it, you can take half the wins away from all the other drivers that have won in the rain, won under caution, won from a good pitstop, but whoever crosses that checkered flag first is the winner, you people are never happy. GO WATCH ANOTHER SPORT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT TRUE RACEFANS>
Fisha695 wrote:
Let me think..hmmmm….because Jr has more fans? Because Jr is third in the points?
So Bowyer had a Career Best Cup Finish at Phoenix.
And Like I said, when it says on the NASCAR Entry blank that the top 3 drivers and the highest finishing rookie have to stay by there cars on Pit Road to be interviewed or else they get point and monetary penalties, they should interview them.
And Lets see, JR = Top Finishing Rookie….? Nope…. JR = top 3 finisher…? Nope
So Bowyer had a Career Best Cup Finish at Phoenix.
SO!
As i said in an earlier post, what was Bowyer going to say, here i’ll give Clint’s interview…”Well we had a 10th to 15th place car, the fuel mileage sure played in our favor, our engineering guys sure calculated the fuel to the right extent, wish i could have led some laps today, but hey our car was shit. I’ll take the not deserved, no effort second place finish, why should i be interviewed anyway, how many fans do i have, 2.” And that is why Bowyer didn’t get interviewed, maybe he should lead laps or become popular like Jr, then he will get noticed.
Howie motorsports photography wrote:
Yeah, a win is a win and it pays the same no matter how you win, but my original point was that the 48 team is far from ‘back’ because they managed to stretch their gas long enough to not need a late stop. They had a good car and they ran well, but I wouldn’t hand them the Championship trophy quite yet!
I agree Jeff, one win does not make a team a threat, you have to be there every week in that winners circle. and it is to early in the season to say who is hot and who is not.
that wasnt directed toward your post it was directed to “gonesouthern”
hey fisha..
BOWYER won at New Hampshire last year..therefore his 2nd place finsih was not his career high..
not a suprise your STILL bashing JR even tho he has been on a hot streak…he deserves TV time and when he wins a race…ALL you will see is Dale JR not anyone else..remember the bud shootout? how long did they interview Stewart..2 seconds? right…get over it that JR is the most popular driver…you whining and complainin about it isnt going to change it…and your just pathetic running your mouth about every single thing he does or doesnt do..GET OVER YOURSELF
and as far as this interview thing goes, who cares who they interview, does it really matter ? if you watched the race you know what happened anyway, and if you didnt you can catch it on here with Kenneths team quotes. get off this Jr. thing. really
maybe the reason they interviewed jr was to see exactly how he choked away that win!!!
I agree who really cares who gets interviewed, why make a big deal out of a 2 minute interview. I swear Jr. gets dragged into everything on here and the article isnt even about him. give it a rest.
JR/HENDRICK FAN wrote:
you definitely are not the smartest fan around because
1 Clint finished 3rd in points last year
2 Clint is in the top 12 right now
3 Clint is rated in the top 7 in souvenir sales in NASCAR
so as far as you talking your garbage you should learn the facts
I hate Jr. but who cares really lol.. if ya don’t like him just shut off the tv or change the channel when they interview him… He didn’t even seem like he wanted to get interviewed Lol.
darrell wrote:
I think he means that’s his best career finish at Pheonix. Not in general.
RedDevil wrote:
Exactly thats all people do on here is bash drivers, I dont understand you people spend your time on here call yourself fans and sit on here like a bunch of children.
KENNETH needs to put a stop to the people on here doing this!!!
Yawn. I have to look over a lot of the idiots on this board who don’t know their facts. I have no problem with Jr. He’s an okay driver. I just have a problem the MOST of his fans. Some of them are cool….
the=with
Here are the facts when it comes to the media and Jr they know that they will get more hits off of him than any other driver so of course they are going to play that card, dont hate the player hate the game.
And hey, I don’t blame them a bit. As a business man, I agree 100%.
Well, well, well I guess I lighted a fire under some people with my comments that were meant for Trey !!who posted first…
As for Howie the shutterbug… Im as much a race fan as anyone on this board and and if you don’t like what I say TFB for you. You are just a Fisha clone any way.
Shaking up the crowd is part of my game just like many others on here but NEVER question my loyalty to the sport I have watched for and been a part of for 1/2 my life.
The 48 car won A race, YES people I get it, OK… That doesn’t mean I liked the way he did win but life goes on and there are a lot of races to be run this year…
PS If they hadn’t made Mark (8) come in I think he could have won this one cause he saved enough gas also.
I went to the race.. was hoping Junior could hold off Martin.
Anyways, I was excited to see Jimmie take the checkered
flag none the less. Great race.
Would have been a great race if the fuel was not a factor. What a go Mark Martin and Dale Jr. Great Racing at least. The ene result was a disappointment because of the fuel cell.
So Mark Martin had a win and Jr was Second if had been ended without fuel problems.
The way it ended was a shame.
Fuel milage win my foot. The 48 team had the best car all night but made what ended up to be a bad call by
not pitting after Newman blew up. After the last yellow he was 4.5 seconds behind the leader and was in
14th place. By the time Martin pitted Jimmie was only 0.4 seconds behind. Yes he stayed out and won
by not pitting for fuel but it would have been an interesting 10 lap finish had Martin not pitted. This
win was not like Mears win at the 600 last year. The 48 team was the best all night. Are the back in
contention? Yes. Are the back in the winners circle? Yes. Are the back on the 1.5 mile? We will see on
Memorial Day weekend.
Hey Howie do you really want to get into another argument with me, i mean i have no problem making it 2 for 2 in my favor you sorry pathetic excuse for a race fan. Once again you didn’t read correctly, i believe my earlier posts were directed at the race and Clint’s performance during Phoenix not his whole cup career. But hey you want the facts on his cup career now, fine I’LL GIVE THEM TO YOU. Horrible driver, doesn’t have a cool head, wow finished third in points last year, congrats on that feat, you wouldn’t have finished there if people like Kyle, Kurt, Carl, Kevin, Jeff Burton had problems, you were “lucky” now as for being in the top 7 in souvinor bits, he only has one thing to buy pretty much and its his Jack Daniels crap, i wouldn’t be surprised if its all Dale Sr fans buying his stuff because of who he drives for and the color of the car when its the Daniels scheme. Clint Bowyer is a mediocre driver, much like Ryan Newman, with no personality whatsoever. So Howie lets go at it again if you want another chance…..
And gonesouthern, i wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Fisha and Howie are the exact same person….
GordonOwnz wrote:
I wouldnt hardly call having to pit for fuel a choke job!!!
boy you guys just dont stop, what are ya all goin to talk about this weekend with no race. oh i forgot you can talk about Juans win this weekend in Mexico City
JR/HENDRICK FAN wrote:
i think you just have a problem with all the drivers, to call Clint a horrible driver, where do you get off calling anyone a horrible driver, and then to say him finishing 3rd in the points last year was because of Kyle, Kurt, Carl, Kevin, and Jeff had problems, whats going to happen when he does it again this year, who will you blame it on then? And as far as Jack Daniels crap, what do you wear, nasty yellow M&M crap? and as far as your name goes you shouldnt even be a Jr. fan because you make the Jr. Nation look like were all dumb rednecks like yourself.
wheres Fisha, this is getting interesting.
haha yellow M&M’s crap, i dunno maybe i should jump on the Kyle Busch bandwagon just as everyone else is doing it seems like. And hmm Clint Bowyer is sure showing his consistency this year isn’t he, omg i see a championship on the horizion for the young lad from Kansas, i can’t wait…Mark my words, Clint Bowyer will finish no higher than 6th in the 2008 Sprint Cup Standings….And yes me showing my support for Dale Jr and defending him makes me a no good Jr hater redneck…Boy i guess my native Chicago redneck side is sure showing on me..I can’t wait until i grow somemore corn this summer, sit down on my porch have some moonshine and recall days where Junior Johnson and my grandpappy were all better then the low life talent that NASCAR has now in some of their young drivers
Mel wrote:
I agree, they had a great race there at the end. It’s a bit
of a let down too see it end with another driver winning
on fuel strategy. But either way, congrats 48.
I just have to say is fuel milage is part of the strategy. Isnt that what our sport is about? Friends of mine are now just getting into the sport they thought it was just cars gong in circles, But now that they have experianced the race themselves they know now alot goes into the sport, when not to and when to pit how much gas 2 tires or 4 or even none somtimes the strategy works and this weekend Johnson proved that. I am not a Johnson fan I am a HUGE Mark Martin fan and I wanted him in the victory circle. He had the car to do it. They decided to pit and he ended up 5th yes it was very sad for me, But I know soon he will get to victoy lane.
I still think JR/HENDRICK FAN is the same person as JR88 FAN and just changed her name to take some of the heat off her for her past stupid comments. Care to comment on that, JR/HENDRICK FAN / JR88 FAN?
yea guest i will comment on that, for one im a guy, for two i used to be budweiser831, but since we’re on the topic of names, what is yours, are you so coincited to hide your own, pretty selfish of you to make comments on us users, when you don’t have one yourself. Wow what a smart person.