{"id":8289,"date":"2017-04-09T18:27:30","date_gmt":"2017-04-09T23:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=8289"},"modified":"2017-04-09T18:27:30","modified_gmt":"2017-04-09T23:27:30","slug":"new-pavement-at-texas-cant-stop-jimmie-johnson-juggernaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/09\/new-pavement-at-texas-cant-stop-jimmie-johnson-juggernaut\/","title":{"rendered":"New pavement at Texas can\u2019t stop Jimmie Johnson juggernaut"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

FORT WORTH, Tex. \u2013 Jimmie Johnson proved on Sunday that you can\u2019t keep a good driver, a good car and a good team down for long\u2014even if you change the playing field at one of his favorite race tracks.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion passed Joey Logano for the lead on Lap 318 of 334 and pulled away for his first victory of the season in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts 500 at newly repaved and reconfigured Texas Motor Speedway.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The win was Johnson\u2019s seventh at the 1.5-mile track and the 81st of his career, and it came despite an inauspicious start to the weekend. Johnson spun in the first round of Friday\u2019s knockout qualifying and flat-spotted his tires. Because his team changed tires on the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet before the race\u2014contravening NASCAR\u2019s mandate that drivers start the race on their qualifying tires\u2014Johnson dropped to the rear for the initial green.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By the time NASCAR called the fifth caution of the race on Lap 121 for debris on the frontstretch, Johnson had cracked the top-10, and he was fourth out of the pits for the subsequent restart on Lap 127.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of Stage 2, which concluded on Lap 170, the No. 48 Chevy was second behind Ryan Blaney, who swept the first and second stages but finished 12th overall after sliding through his pit box on the final stop on Lap 300 and losing track position.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Blaney led 148 laps. Johnson led 18, but he led the one that counted most. The victory was Johnson\u2019s sixth in the last 10 races at Texas.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I guess I remembered how to drive, and I guess this team remembered how to do it!” said Johnson, who has been the victim of some inevitable second-guessing after scratching out a lone top-10 (ninth at Phoenix) in the first six races of the season. “I\u2019m just real proud of this team.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“What a tough track and tough conditions. We were really in our wheelhouse and we were just able to execute all day.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing that bothered Johnson was a lack of hydration in the car, thanks to a malfunction in the fluid delivery system, but with a break in the schedule for Easter, he\u2019ll have nearly a fortnight to recover before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series goes to Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates with a burn out after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“Oh, it was hot in there,” Johnson acknowledged. “I got cooked in the car today. I didn\u2019t have any fluids, so I\u2019m not feeling the best, but we got into Victory Lane. I\u2019m so proud of the fight in this race team. I can\u2019t wait to celebrate during this off-weekend with my family and friends and really enjoy this.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Johnson paid a visit to the infield care center after climbing from his car, before coming to the media center for his post-race press conference.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Larson finished second for the fourth time this season. A winner at Fontana, Calif., in late March, Larson also started 32nd because his car didn\u2019t pass pre-qualifying inspection in time to make an attempt during time trials. After working his way toward the front, Larson was sent to the rear again for driving through too many pit boxes under a competition caution on Lap 33. But he again found his way to the front. It simply took him too long to get past Logano during the final 30-lap green-flag run.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“Wish I would have got him by a little sooner, but all in all a great day for our Credit One Bank Chevy team,” Larson said. “I made a mistake there on the first pit stop and clipped too many boxes. I turned in way early.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I was disappointed in myself then, because I feel like our car was really, really good the beginning part of the race and probably could have drove up to the lead and maybe controlled the race from then on. So you never know.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“But I just got to focus a little bit harder and not make mistakes, and we can control some races, lead some laps. All in all, still a really good finish for us and we extend the point lead a little bit (to 17 points over ninth-place finisher Chase Elliott), so a solid day.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The racing groove on the repaved surface began to widen out as the race progressed, thanks in part to the track\u2019s effort to drag tires and lay down rubber throughout the weekend.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, puts the winner’s sticker on his car after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“Yeah, the track was a little bit better than I think I expected it to be,” Larson said. “I thought it would be a little bit harder pass. Maybe it was, but our car was really good, so it could operate on the bottom of (Turns) 1 and 2 really good, and that was about the only place you could pass was the exit of 2, so our car was thankfully working good over there.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On a contrarian pit strategy that dictated he stay out in the lead for the final restart, Logano held third. Polesitter Kevin Harvick came home fourth after leading 77 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran fifth, far and away his best result of the season, after starting 37th because of the same pre-qualifying inspection issue that buffaloed Larson.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – O’Reilly Auto Parts 500<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Texas Motor Speedway<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Fort Worth, Texas<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday, April 9, 2017<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

               1. (24) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               2. (32) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               3. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               4. (1) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               5. (37) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               6. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               7. (6) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               8. (7) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               9. (33) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               10. (10) Kurt Busch, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               11. (3) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               12. (2) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               13. (12) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               14. (11) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               15. (34) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               16. (8) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               17. (14) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               18. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               19. (20) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               20. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               21. (38) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 333.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               22. (36) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 333.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               23. (13) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 333.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               24. (19) Danica Patrick, Ford, 333.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               25. (17) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 333.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               26. (9) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 332.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               27. (27) * JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 330.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               28. (21) David Ragan, Ford, 329.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               29. (15) Landon Cassill, Ford, 329.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               30. (28) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 327.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               31. (26) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 327.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               32. (23) * Corey LaJoie #, Toyota, 326.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               33. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 322.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               34. (29) Gray Gaulding #, Toyota, 322.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               35. (30) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 319.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               36. (22) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 314.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               37. (40) * Derrike Cope, Toyota, 313.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               38. (35) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 303.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               39. (39) * Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 104.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

               40. (31) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Accident, 9.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  147.137 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 24 Mins, 18 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.340 Seconds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  8 for 35 laps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  16 among 6 drivers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   K. Harvick 1-15; R. Blaney 16-32; K. Harvick 33-36; R. Blaney 37-88; M. Truex Jr. 89-92; R. Blaney 93-125; M. Truex Jr. 126; R. Blaney 127-172; K. Harvick 173-219; B. Keselowski 220-223; J. Logano 224-228; M. Truex Jr. 229-272; J. Johnson 273; J. Logano 274-290; K. Harvick 291-301; J. Logano 302-317; J. Johnson 318-334.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  R. Blaney 4 times for 148 laps; K. Harvick 4 times for 77 laps; M. Truex Jr. 3 times for 49 laps; J. Logano 3 times for 38 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 18 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 4 laps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,78,1,4,2,42,14,17,22,18<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,48,1,42,24,41,4,2,88,78<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Tex. \u2013 Jimmie Johnson proved on Sunday that you can\u2019t keep a good driver, a good car and a good team down for long\u2014even if you change the playing field at one of his favorite race tracks. The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion passed Joey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11,13],"tags":[63,16,413,21],"class_list":["post-8289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","category-texas-motor-speedway","tag-jimmie-johnson","tag-nascar","tag-oreilly-auto-parts-500","tag-texas-motor-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-29H","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/TMS_MENCS_VL_040917-e1491775091852.jpg?fit=625%2C419&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8289"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8292,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8289\/revisions\/8292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}