The night belongs to Jimmie Johnson at California
Quote selected text Published September 2nd, 2007 in NASCAR News
Jimmie Johnson grabbed a victory Sunday night at California Speedway, clinching a spot in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup championship and guaranteeing he will be no worse than a tie for the top seed in the 10-race playoff.
Johnson dominated the second half of the Sharp Aquos 500, a race that began in bright sunshine with temperatures over 100 degrees and finished under the lights. It was his fifth victory of the season, but his first since May 6 at Richmond.
This one was just as important, though, with NASCAR awarding a 10-point bonus for each win this season in seeding the 12 drivers who will compete in the Chase.
There was some shuffling at the bottom of that group, with Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch each moving up one spot to 10th and 11th, respectively, while Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick slipped from 10th to 12th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., began and ended the race in 13th, despite a solid fifth-place finish. But he did cut his margin from 158 behind Busch coming in to 128 behind Harvick heading into next Saturday night’s race at Richmond, the final event before the start of the Chase.
Details to follow…
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Jimmie Johnson Foundation 190/5 250 Running
2 19 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot Worklife Rewards 170/0 250 Running
3 5 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Cheez-It / CARQUEST 175/10 250 Running
4 15 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 165/5 250 Running
5 7 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 160/5 250 Running
6 8 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 155/5 250 Running
7 36 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers 146/0 250 Running
8 17 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 147/5 250 Running
9 1 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 143/5 250 Running
10 3 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 134/0 250 Running
11 11 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Totino’s Pizza Rolls 135/5 250 Running
12 33 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA Insurance 127/0 250 Running
13 22 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 129/5 250 Running
14 12 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 121/0 250 Running
15 13 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 123/5 250 Running
16 38 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Sharp AQUOS / 3M Vikuiti 115/0 250 Running
17 10 16 Greg Biffle Ford Aflac 112/0 250 Running
18 18 84 A.J. Allmendinger * Toyota Red Bull 109/0 249 Running
19 9 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Express 106/0 249 Running
20 24 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 103/0 249 Running
21 31 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Memorex 100/0 249 Running
22 16 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont Cromax Pro 97/0 249 Running
23 32 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Best Buy 94/0 249 Running
24 20 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 91/0 249 Running
25 14 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s 88/0 249 Running
26 26 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 90/5 248 Running
27 34 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 82/0 248 Running
28 39 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo 84/5 248 Running
29 23 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 76/0 248 Running
30 41 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 78/5 248 Running
31 40 01 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 70/0 248 Running
32 28 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Burger King 72/5 247 Running
33 42 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 64/0 247 Running
34 21 40 David Stremme Dodge Target 61/0 245 Running
35 6 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 58/0 245 Running
36 27 36 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 360 OTC 55/0 229 Out of Race
37 43 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 57/5 203 Out of Race
38 30 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 49/0 201 Out of Race
39 4 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Kodak think: 51/5 194 Out of Race
40 37 88 Ricky Rudd Ford Snickers Generation Max 43/0 179 Out of Race
41 35 7 Robby Gordon Ford Original Roadhouse Grill / Jim Beam 40/0 159 Out of Race
42 25 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 37/0 38 Out of Race
43 29 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 34/0 9 Out of Race
Bookmark to:
- Johnson to donate race winnings to Red Cross
- Jimmie Johnson to be honored in San Diego
- Jimmie Johnson wins pole at Richmond
- Johnson, Gordon to appear on Monday Night Football
- Johnson to run 3 Nationwide races for JR Motorsports
Before Anonymous goes on a rampage about how much Junior sucks, let me point some stuff out.
Maybe I’m putting myself up in the air to be shot down by everybody who hates Jr., but I’m going to make it clear: you cannot deny Junior’s dedication to his team. He is one of the most, if not the most, loyal driver in the Nextel Cup series. You can sit there and trash-talk him as much as you want, but you cannot deny his dedication. Engine failures are not his fault, therefore no one should judge him based on how poorly he finished the four times his engine went out on him. Every one of those times, he was running with the best of them, being competitive, driving the wheels off his car from the first lap to the lap his engines gave out.
No one should be able to criticize his ability after seeing how hard he was driving tonight. Watching him, going all out from lap one, reminded me very much of his father. Whether Junior makes the Chase now isn’t important, what IS important is that he’s going to give every race everything he’s got until the checkered flag flies at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Most people judge him based on wins and championships, or lack thereof, and not who he is as a person and a competitor. To me, he is the best there is, because he is dedicated, driven, determined, and loyal.
That’s all I have to say about tonight’s showing from Dale Jr. If it’s off-topic, I apologize, but that’s how I feel and I just wanted to pre-empt the Junior bashing.
wooohooo JIMMIE won… and a little off topic but JR ran his heart out tonight
and i know he might not make it in the chase but im still a fan and will show JR some love:) JR you rock too:)
I want to thank Guy for that posting, I agree with him 100%.
Junior drove his heart out this race, and I give him so much
more respect for that.
Congradulations to Jimmie Johnson! Great job to that team!
First off - CONGRATS Jimmie - being at a race that your driver win makes it
all the sweeter!
Dale Jr ran his butt off tonight. The struggle for the lead changes were
constant and exciting to watch. He always had the darn #2 right around him…
the one who has been haunting him in the Chase!!!
I was really impressed with Jr’s driving tonight.
Now let’s get him in some Hendrick equipment and see what he can really do!!!!
Kathy
I think JR’s driving has been pretty impressive the last couple of weeks.
Too bad, he won’t be in the chase.
….of course, he is JUST a one dimensional stock car driver who sucks at any other type of racing……..so, he SHOULD do well on ovals.
Guy, all you described was a professional race car driver….don’t overlook the fact he made over $1/2 million dollars for last nights drive. Wouldn’t you be dedicated for that much money too?
That is just his job.
Way to Jeff Gordon! Intentionally took out 2 Toyotas at one time. “My fault” (that I am solid in the Chase with no worries and what I lost in prize money GM paid me for doing their dirty work).
Look out next year Joe Gibbs Racing. Latest rumor is Target will be primary sponsor of all Toyota teams so the big red bullseye can be placed on alll sides of each Toyota. It will be very easy for the other teams to locate and pinpoint each Toyota for a “Oops. My fault” incident each week.
It’s going to be interesting to see when Junior gets to drive the wheels off of a GOOD car for a GOOD team. I don’t think he’s going to be a Hendrick Guinnea pig (Mears). I’m pretty sure Rick Hendrick wants to be the first guy to have Dale Sr’s kid win a championship.
I don’t think Rick Hendrick is going to try to change Dale Jr’s image, Dale Jr’s image helped Budweiser sell many, many cases of beer, And I think that image will do the same for ever sponsors him next. With a non-alcohol sponsor, he’ll be opened up to the younger audience and many parents will have no
problem if their kids looked up to him as role-model and I know the beer sponsor may have hindered that a little before. Jr. has alot of dedication, respect and integrity.
congradulations JIMMIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what an awsome race!!!
Jimmy never looks happy winning a race.. he does his same ol burnout.. gets out of his car, points his finger up, then says woo.. same crap every win.
Carl Edwards drove his ass off go Carl!!!!!!!!!
If it wasn’t for Jeff Green, Bobby labonte would’ve had 3 straight Top 10 finishes. Anyways, Bobby is one of the hottest drivers in the last 3 races.
OK NOW THATS WHAT IM TALKIN BOUT…JIMMY JOHNSON IS BACK BABY!!!!! OH YEA AND J.R. ALWAYS DRIVES HIS HEART OUT ACCORDING TO PEOPLE ON HERE BUT NEVER CATCHES A WIN…..HMMM BUT HE WILL BE WITH HENDRICKS NEXT YEAR I CAN ALMOST PROMISE YOU HE WILL CATCH A FEW WINS NEXTED YEAR……..IM NOT HATIN JUST STATIN THE FACTS……AND YOU J.R. FANS KNOW THIS MAN!!!!!!!!!
Toyota finishes 8th!
Toyota finishes!
Way to go Jimmie! Great run for one of the nicest guys on the track.
2 toyotas in the top 20!
3 in the top 32!
That might change next year.
Guys.. the Toyota teams are new.. Watch Gibbs get 3 of his guys in the chase next year.