Jimmie Johnson Wins For The Eighth Time At Martinsville [Video]
Jimmie Johnson dominated in Ridgeway, Virginia on Sunday and went on to win for the eighth time at Martinsville Speedway in the STP Gas Booster 500. Johnson is now alone in third-place for the most wins at Martinsville behind Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip.
Petty and Waltrip are both members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and Johnson will surely join them when he retires as the premier driver of this era and one of the best of all-time. The win Sunday was Johnson’s second this season as he won the Daytona 500 on opening weekend.
Johnson’s performance was capped off by a great run on the final restart that held off Clint Bowyer and teammate Jeff Gordon. Johnson finished the race with a career-best 346 laps led and never gave Bowyer a chance to make a pass during the final laps.
On lap 487, Kurt Busch’s No. 78 car went up in flames, bringing out the last caution of the day. The caution came at the wrong time for Johnson, who was steadily increasing his lead over Bowyer each lap.
It all came down to the restart, and Bowyer didn’t get the jump he needed to make a pass as Johnson held on for the win. Johnson’s win gives Hendrick Motorsports its third on the season and a record 20th win at Martinsville.
Bowyer fell short of victory lane and finished second, while Johnson’s teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne finished third and fourth respectively. The biggest battle in the final laps was between last week’s winner Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski for fifth place.
Busch blocked Keselowski low through each turn until the final lap when Keselowski made his move. On the last turn, Busch gave up the inside to Keselowski but got a great run off the corner and held off last season’s Sprint Cup champion at the finish line.
Mark Martin replaced the injured Denny Hamlin at Martinsville and ran well enough for a 10th place finish ahead of Brian Vickers. Danica Patrick finished 12th and proved to critics that she can run well on short tracks while Kevin Harvick finished 13th and was a little heated after the race.
After crossing the finish line, Harvick caught up with Brian Vickers’ No. 55 car and spun him out, showing his displeasure in Vickers racing near the finish. It’s not certain as to why Harvick was so upset, but Vickers was bumping and grinding his way to the front all day long. Here’s the video of Harvick’s retaliation after the race:
As the two battled it out after the race, Jimmie Johnson celebrated in the winner’s circle by receiving Martinsville’s annual grandfather clock for the eighth time. Johnson moved atop the Sprint Cup standings with the win as Dale Earnhardt Jr. fell two spots to third after finishing outside the top-10 for the first time this season.
Earnhardt Jr. finished 24th Sunday after falling two laps behind and is now 12 points back of Johnson for the top spot. The chase for the cup now moves on to Texas for the NRA 500 where Greg Biffle won last year.
The NASCAR season is off to a hot start and Jimmie Johnson is right back where he belongs atop the standings. Johnson is the only driver in history to win five consecutive championships, and he hopes to regain his title this year after a two-year drought.
Will Jimmie Johnson’s great start in 2013 continue in Texas as his quest for his sixth Sprint Cup title rolls on?
[Image via Kim Phillips]
