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CUP: Johnson, Knaus Outfox Competition
Written by:
Tom Jensen
04/13/2008 - 01:26 AM
Phoenix, Az.
The Subway Fresh Fit 500 was the first win for Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos
It was only a matter of time before Hendrick Motorsports got back to victory lane, a place it visited 18 times in 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2007, but was zero for seven in 2008.
That all changed Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway, where Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus played the fuel mileage game to perfection to claim victory in the Subway Fresh Fit 500, Race No. 8 in the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule.
“We’re back,” Johnson said after the race, “and we’ve been working very hard to get back. I’m really proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports.”
While the rest of the leaders came in for fuel in the closing laps, Knaus kept Johnson out on the track, and he cruised to a 7.002 second victory over Clint Bowyer. But it was anything but easy. An early strategic miscue got Johnson off on the pit sequence and a bad pit stop dropped him from eighth to 14th with about 80 laps to go.
Johnson, who led a race-high 120 laps, was able to work his way back to the front, taking the lead from Mark Martin when Martin pitted on Lap 302 of 312. With Knaus frantically yelling over his radio for Johnson to slow down and conserve fuel over the final 10 laps, the two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion claimed his first victory of 2008 and the first for the team this season.
With 34 career Sprint Cup victories, Johnson is used to charging hard at the end, so to win a race backing off was something of an unusual situation for he and the team. “We don’t play the fuel mileage game,” the California native said bluntly. “We
But if they were going to play it, they needed to play it correctly, which is why Knaus was yelling at Johnson. “I was saying, ‘Back the hell up. Slow down,’ ” Knaus said of his closing lap instructions to his driver. “I thought it was pretty damned exciting, at least from where I was sitting.”
The victory helped Johnson move up to fourth in points and more importantly get the team back to victory lane for the first this season. “In some ways we recognize we haven’t been running how we want,” said Johnson. “But we were second in California, we were second in Texas last week and fourth at Martinsville. … We’ve been working really hard. We’ve had some tough races as a team, but I think that’s made us stronger.”
SUBWAY FRESH FIT 500 RESULTS
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
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