NASCAR win for Jimmie Johnson at Phoenix

Website design By BotEap.comJimmie Johnson played the role of the tortoise and was able to beat the hare as he crossed the finish line at Phoenix International Raceway in neutral. Crew chief Chad Knaus spent the last 7 laps of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 telling Jimmie to slow down.

Website design By BotEap.comOne after another, the contenders behind Johnson began to pit for some fuel to make it to the finish line. Knaus signaled for Jimmie to pit on lap 304, but after a brief argument they changed his strategy. “Increase your pace by half a second a lap,” Knaus radioed to his driver. “Fuck it. We’ll go for it.”

Website design By BotEap.comKnaus spent the rest of the race slowing Johnson down and finally telling him to slow down three seconds a lap, because none of the drivers behind had time to catch up. “Put it in neutral!” Knaus ordered as Johnson rolled through the last two corners. “I’m fine,” Johnson replied. “I have good fuel pressure.”

Website design By BotEap.comAs he neared the finish line, Johnson yelled, “We’re going to win this.” Johnson completed the final lap at a relatively slow pace of 31.19 seconds. The victory returned Hendrick Motorsports to victory lane for the first time this year and gave the two-time defending Sprint Cup champion his 34th career win, and his second straight at Phoenix. Clint Bowyer, the only other driver not to pit for fuel, finished second 7.002 seconds behind. Denny Hamlin ran third, followed by Carl Edwards, who recovered from a pit road penalty to claim fourth.

Website design By BotEap.comMark Martin, who relinquished the lead to Johnson when he pitted for two tires and fuel on Lap 302, ran fifth, followed by point leader Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch. . Johnson’s margin of victory was the largest since Martin Truex Jr. won the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover by 7.355 seconds over Ryan Newman on June 4, 2007.

Website design By BotEap.comAmazingly, only 4 drivers led the race, Johnson (120), Earnhardt (87), Martin (68) and polesitter Ryan Newman (37), the fewest since the Siemens 300 at New Hampshire (July 25 2004) produced three different leaders. .

Website design By BotEap.comJohnson conserved his fuel so effectively that he had enough left for a celebratory burnout, but ran out of gas down the stretch during his victory lap. The win moved Johnson from sixth to fourth in the championship standings, 99 points behind Burton.

Website design By BotEap.comNotes: The start of the race was delayed more than 16 minutes to accommodate the Major League Baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, which was also televised on FOX. Engine failure killed both front row starters. Newman crashed after 134 laps, and second place Elliott Sadler followed with a blown engine on lap 161. Newman finished 43rd, Sadler 41st. Race comment from 23rd-place finisher Kurt Busch: “My car is so tight I wouldn’t turn at Talladega.”