CP MOTORSPORTS - JOHNSON CRUISES TO VICTORY DESPITE KESELOWSKI'S DOMINANT PERFORMANCE
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It's not how you start the race -- or run the entire race which matters. It's how you finish.
Nobody's leard the valuable lesson of finishing more than six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. The driver of the iconic No. 48 for Hendrick Motorsports passed Brad Keselowski late to grab the win in the 500 mile affair at Texas Motor Speedway.
While Keselowski led over 300 laps, Johnson only led 6.
"I just like to race guys clean," Johnson said. "I kept working on him and working on him. I'm just so excited for everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports for digging in and working hard. So nice to get this 48 back in victory lane."
Brad Keselowski still finished in the runner-up position and while it seems like a great finish but not for a driver who needs a win to advance to the NASCAR Homestand finale. Keselowski, who led 312 of the race's 334 laps, knows a win is paramount.
"It was a good race at the end," Keselowski explained. "We led a lot of laps. A lot to be proud of. Came up one spot short, which is unfortunate. But still we had a great day. Just one step short of having the awesome day we needed to have. But we know if we keep running like we have the last two weeks, you know, we'll win races. We need to win the next two, I understand that. But I think we have a great opportunity to do it, as well."
Kevin Harvick like numerous other drivers battled tire issues but managed to survive and grab a third place finish. Harvick, who faced problems with the shifter as well and had to drive with one hand, led 11 laps en route to a third place finish.
ìWe just hung in there and fought like weíve done the last two years to make something out of the day there at the end,î Harvick said. ìIíve never had to drive a car with one hand that long. Iíve had to drive them with one arm on occasion, but never for 100 laps. We got lucky today that two flat tires didnít tear the back of the car off or the motor didnít blow up when the car popped out of gear.î
Kyle Busch took home a fourth place finish and now sits in prime position heading into the round finale in Phoenix next week. While Busch understands the position Keselowski is in he believes Johnson being a non-Chase contender and winning is best for his team.
"There's no denying that certainly us as the 18 car cheering for the 48 helps our situation," Busch explained. "It makes those guys that are in dire need of a win to have to work hard for it. Sometimes you can't put yourself in that situation. It may or may not have been his own doing last week at Martinsville. It's unfortunate for Brad. I've been in that situation before, maybe never to that magnitude of losing a race quite like that. I've lost plenty of them that way for sure, and probably even a couple of them to Superman. It's frustrating I'm sure for Brad.
"For what we got going, to focus on the 18 car, it was a good thing for us today."
Carl Edwards finished in fifth place with Dale Earnhardt, Jr, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex, Jr, Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray rounding out the top ten finishers.
The race took a dramatic turn early when Joey Logano was forced to the garage after suffering a blown left rear tire which caused massive damage to the rear end of the No. 22 AAA Ford.
"We needed to win," Logano said. "We arenít out of it though. This team isnít quitting yet. We will go out there and gain a couple points, which donít mean anything but we will go to Phoenix and try to win that one. It is unfortunate. It just wasnít in God's plan today.î
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 34
Unofficial Race Results for the 11Th Annual Aaa Texas 500 - Sunday, November 8, 2015
Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 334 Laps - 501 Miles - Purse: $7,075,075
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 334 47 4 124.0 $462,976 Running 2 6
2 1 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 334 44 2 145.0 $394,391 Running 7 312
3 2 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet 334 42 1 118.2 $280,475 Running 2 11
4 3 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Crispy Toyota 334 41 1 112.8 $242,766 Running 1 1
5 13 19 Carl Edwards Sport Clips Toyota 334 39 108.1 $170,575 Running
6 10 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 334 38 98.6 $171,240 Running
7 7 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 334 37 100.7 $162,615 Running
8 23 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 334 37 1 113.9 $160,910 Running 1 1
9 18 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet 334 35 96.9 $172,351 Running
10 27 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 334 34 87.9 $158,556 Running
11 26 3 Austin Dillon Dow Packaging/H-E-B Chevrolet 334 33 84.1 $156,576 Running
12 6 20 Erik Jones(i) DeWalt Toyota 334 0 92.4 $153,326 Running
13 20 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet 334 31 75.7 $120,440 Running
14 21 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet 334 0 83.0 $127,748 Running
15 14 15 Clint Bowyer Maxwell House Toyota 334 29 80.8 $142,973 Running
16 11 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 334 28 69.6 $116,140 Running
17 30 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet 334 27 74.3 $137,398 Running
18 24 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 334 26 68.8 $143,526 Running
19 12 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 333 25 71.2 $137,148 Running
20 16 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 333 24 78.3 $120,765 Running
21 28 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 333 23 66.0 $113,540 Running
22 19 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 333 22 81.8 $137,240 Running
23 15 55 David Ragan Aaron's Online Dream Machine Toyota 333 21 60.0 $132,079 Running
24 32 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Sonic Ford 332 20 60.9 $130,910 Running
25 36 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC/O'Reilly Auto Parts Chevrolet 331 0 52.2 $104,265 Running
26 17 13 Casey Mears GEICO Military Chevrolet 330 18 55.5 $126,123 Running
27 39 35 Cole Whitt Moen Ford 330 17 45.2 $115,398 Running
28 43 51 Justin Allgaier Texas Lottery Chevrolet 330 16 47.2 $120,587 Running
29 41 38 David Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 329 16 1 40.5 $108,340 Running 1 1
30 35 34 Brett Moffitt # Visit Dallas Ford 329 14 45.8 $103,130 Running
31 37 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 329 13 37.0 $99,915 Running
32 40 23 Jeb Burton # Dr Pepper/Estes Toyota 329 12 33.7 $99,690 Running
33 34 26 JJ Yeley(i) Overture Promotions Toyota 329 0 41.3 $99,473 Running 1 1
34 33 95 Michael McDowell Tommy Williams Drywall Ford 328 10 42.0 $99,240 Running
35 38 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Dustless Blasting Toyota 328 10 1 32.8 $99,040 Running 1 1
36 42 98 Ryan Preece Xyience Chevrolet 326 8 28.9 $98,810 Running
37 5 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 304 7 86.9 $126,510 Accident
38 9 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 304 6 45.1 $111,852 Running
39 29 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 296 5 50.8 $134,355 Running
40 4 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford 268 4 44.1 $132,988 Running
41 31 7 Alex Bowman Nikko RC/Toy State Chevrolet 236 3 42.3 $81,780 Engine
42 22 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 52 2 39.5 $104,994 Accident
43 25 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Snap-On Tools Ford 26 0 30.8 $74,280 Accident
Race Comments: Jimmie Johnson won the AAA Texas 500, his 75th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 98 (engine change) and 14 (missed driver introductions).
Failed to Qualify: (2) 32 Joey Gase(i), 62 Reed Sorenson.
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 38 Mins, 38 Secs. Average Speed: 137.490 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.082 Seconds
Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps: Laps: 11-17 (#22 Spin Turn 3 [None]); 26-29 (#21 Accident Turn 2 / Competition [None]); 37-41 (Debris Frontstretch [None]); 53-57 (#14 Spin Frontstretch [88]); 102-106 (Debris Frontstretch [17]); 150-154 (Debris Backstretch [6]); 169-172 (#88 Spin Turn 4 [27]); 198-203 (#6 Accident Turn 2 [88]); 311-316 (Debris Turn 2 [20]).
Lead Changes: 15 among 8 drivers: B. Keselowski 1-17; K. Harvick 18-26; M. DiBenedetto # 27; B. Keselowski 28-41; Kyle Busch 42; B. Keselowski 43-53; D. Gilliland 54; J. Yeley(i) 55; B. Keselowski 56-251; J. Johnson 252-253; B. Keselowski 254-297; K. Harvick 298-299; B. Keselowski 300-316; M. Truex Jr. 317; B. Keselowski 318-330; J. Johnson 331-334.
Top 16 Driver Points: (1) J. Gordon 4,082;(2) Kyle Busch 4,080;(3) K. Harvick 4,079;(4) M. Truex Jr. 4,076;(5) C. Edwards 4,069;(6) B. Keselowski 4,057;(7) Kurt Busch 4,048;(8) J. Logano 4,013;(9) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,259;(10) D. Hamlin 2,257;(11) R. Newman 2,253;(12) J. Johnson 2,240;(13) J. Mcmurray 2,235;(14) P. Menard 2,208;(15) M. Kenseth 2,197;(16) C. Bowyer 2,153.
3M Lap Leader : Kevin Harvick, #4 11 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Brad Keselowski, #2
Coors Light Pole Award : Brad Keselowski, #2 196.929 mph Ingersoll Rand Power Move : Kurt Busch, #41 5 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Roush-Yates Engines, #2 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Kevin Harvick, #4
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Jamie McMurray, #1 0.164 sec. Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap : Kyle Busch, #18
Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Brett Moffitt, #34
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Nov. 15, 2015 - Phoenix International Raceway
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