Jimmie Johnson Wins Second Straight; Matt Kenseth Passes Jeff Gordon For Points Lead
Jimmie Johnson. Two weeks ago, he didn’t have a win in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but today’s trip to the Winner’s Circle at the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover gave him two in a row and a secure spot in the Chase for the Cup.
Dominance in Dover is nothing new for Jimmie Johnson, who has won nine of the 25 NASCAR events he has started there. Today, he had to work around two late cautions and a sizable pothole that stopped the race for about 20 minutes, but that didn’t stop him from taking the checkered flag. He passed Brad Keselowski — who started with the pole position — in lap 396 of the 400 lap race and never looked back. Johnson started in the fourth position and stayed near the front of the pack from pole to pole, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.
Jeff Gordon finished a disappointing 14th, allowing Matt Kenseth – who finished third in today’s NASCAR FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks – to pass him up for top spot in the points. Kenseth is still waiting for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win of the season, but his five top five finishes and ten top 10 finishes are enough to put him two points ahead of Jeff Gordon, who has taken one checkered flag this year.
Danica Patrick didn’t crash, but did manage to lose position, starting 23rd and finishing 24th in today’s NASCAR FedEx 400 at Dover. She continues to lead the NASCAR pack in Twitter followers and corporate sponsors, but has yet to take the checkered flag at a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.
Brad Keselowski made a late push, but was unable to knock Jimmy Johnson out of the lead in the last four laps. Keselowski finished in second place. Matt Kenseth, the new points leader, finished in third, Clint Bowyer finished in fourth and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.
The top five in the points standings after today’s NASCAR FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks are: Matt Kenseth, followed by Jeff Gordon (-2 points), Carl Edwards (-25), Jimmy Johnson (-27) and Dale Earnhardt Jr.(-34). Dale Jr., who has had an exciting season – including a go kart race with Charles Barkley – finished ninth in today’s NASCAR FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks. Danica Patrick is in the middle of the pack – like she normally is in the NASCAR Sprint Cup races – in 28th place.
As its name implies, today’s NASCAR FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks benefited the charity Autism Speaks. You can get more information about Autism Speaks here. Check The Inquisitr next week for a preview and information regarding how to watch Jeff Gordon, Danica Patrick, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmy Johnson and the other NASCAR stars in the Pocono 400.
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