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Sprint Cup
CUP: Johnson Wins On Road Course
Jimmie Johnson claimed victory in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway...
Jimmie Johnson (Center), Chad Knaus (Left) and Rick Hendrick (Right) celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Jimmie Johnson came into Infineon Raceway with 50 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories. And he left with 51, not so much because he won the Toyota/Save Mart 350, but because Marcos Ambrose gave it away.
LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
PDF> UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
Ambrose was leading under caution with just six laps to go when he inexplicably cut his engine off going up the hill on the 1.99-mile road course. By the time Ambrose got his JTG-Daugherty Toyota restarted, he had drifted back to seventh, which is where NASCAR ordered him to restart.
Johnson, in turn, was moved from second to first and was able to cruise to an easy victory, moving him ahead of Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett in career Sprint Cup race wins.
It was Johnson’s fourth victory of the season, but his first in the last 11 races.
“I don’t know what was going on, but it was unfortunate for him,” said Johnson of Ambrose’s gaffe. “He was the fastest car there at the end.”
Robby Gordon had his best race of the season, his Toyota finishing second ahead of NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Defending Infineon winner Kasey Kahne finished fourth, ahead of Johnson’s teammate, Jeff Gordon. Ambrose ended the race sixth.
In fairness to Johnson, his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was stout from the drop of the green flag at Sonoma.
For the second time in three years, Kasey Kahne started from the pole on the 1.99-mile road course. But by the middle of Lap 1, second-qualifier Johnson was in the lead with Kurt Busch up to second. By the end of 10 laps, Johnson’s margin was 5.178 seconds.
On Lap 12, the first caution flew as AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch and Elliott Sadler tangled through the Turn 8 esses on the back half of the course.
On the Lap 14 restart, Johnson held the lead, with Ambrose up to second. By now, Kyle Busch was in the garage to get a new nose, while his teammate, Denny Hamlin, ran into the back of Boris Said and bent his car’s nose badly. So in the early stages of the race the two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, winners of seven of the previous 10 races, already were out of contention.
On Lap 26, Ambrose pitted from second place, making it a Hendrick 1-2, Johnson leading Jeff Gordon by 8.025 seconds. Gordon and third-place Juan Pablo Montoya pitted on Lap 33, with Johnson pitting the following lap.
When the stops cycled through, Mattias Ekstrom, who pitted on Lap 12, led Ambrose and Johnson. On Lap 41, Johnson reclaimed second from Ambrose, then moved to the lead two laps later.
On Lap 52, Ambrose pitted from second place, part of a three-stop strategy.
At the halfway mark, Johnson led Martin Truex Jr. by a whopping 13.846 seconds. Then it was Gordon, Montoya, Kurt Busch and points leader Kevin Harvick.
The second caution flew on Lap 59, when Dave Blaney stopped on the track in Turn 7. After the pit stops, the order was Boris Said, Tony Stewart, Ambrose, Eckstrom, David Ragan, Biffle and Johnson, the four-time champ the first of the leaders to pit.
The race restarted on Lap 61, Ambrose taking the lead in a single lap. Ragan then spun, but the track stayed green. Four laps later, though, another caution flew when Brad Keselowski went off track at Turn 10. Meanwhile, Truex, Gordon and Montoya were ill with each other for making contact on the track.
The green flew on Lap 67, but a split second later, the tail end of the field got wadded up on the frontstretch, bringing out a red flag.
After a delay of 20 minutes, 18 seconds, Ambrose and Johnson bolted out front on the Lap 69 restart. Johnson pitted on Lap 79, with leader Ambrose coming one lap later, exiting the pits ahead of Johnson.
The new leader was Said, who led Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Scott Speed, with Ambrose sixth and Johnson seventh.
Joey Logano spun after getting nailed by Montoya, bringing out caution No. 5 on Lap 86. Said restarted in the lead ahead of Keselowski, Ambrose, Robby Gordon and Johnson. Said got a terrible restart after a bump from Keselowski, with Ambrose and Johnson going back out front.
Ekstrom got nudged off road in Turn 8, bringing out a yellow on Lap 93. Ambrose held sway on the restart, quickly building a 2-second lead.
Keselowski brought out his second caution on Lap 104, spinning in Turn 7.
Under caution, Ambrose cut his engine off and lost position, with NASCAR moving Johnson into the lead, Robby Gordon second and Ambrose back to seventh.
The race restarted on Lap 106, Johnson breaking away cleanly and holding on to win his first road course race in 307 career Cup starts.
LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
PDF> UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen 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. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
PDF> UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
Ambrose was leading under caution with just six laps to go when he inexplicably cut his engine off going up the hill on the 1.99-mile road course. By the time Ambrose got his JTG-Daugherty Toyota restarted, he had drifted back to seventh, which is where NASCAR ordered him to restart.
Johnson, in turn, was moved from second to first and was able to cruise to an easy victory, moving him ahead of Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett in career Sprint Cup race wins.
It was Johnson’s fourth victory of the season, but his first in the last 11 races.
“I don’t know what was going on, but it was unfortunate for him,” said Johnson of Ambrose’s gaffe. “He was the fastest car there at the end.”
Robby Gordon had his best race of the season, his Toyota finishing second ahead of NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Defending Infineon winner Kasey Kahne finished fourth, ahead of Johnson’s teammate, Jeff Gordon. Ambrose ended the race sixth.
In fairness to Johnson, his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was stout from the drop of the green flag at Sonoma.
For the second time in three years, Kasey Kahne started from the pole on the 1.99-mile road course. But by the middle of Lap 1, second-qualifier Johnson was in the lead with Kurt Busch up to second. By the end of 10 laps, Johnson’s margin was 5.178 seconds.
On Lap 12, the first caution flew as AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch and Elliott Sadler tangled through the Turn 8 esses on the back half of the course.
On the Lap 14 restart, Johnson held the lead, with Ambrose up to second. By now, Kyle Busch was in the garage to get a new nose, while his teammate, Denny Hamlin, ran into the back of Boris Said and bent his car’s nose badly. So in the early stages of the race the two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, winners of seven of the previous 10 races, already were out of contention.
On Lap 26, Ambrose pitted from second place, making it a Hendrick 1-2, Johnson leading Jeff Gordon by 8.025 seconds. Gordon and third-place Juan Pablo Montoya pitted on Lap 33, with Johnson pitting the following lap.
When the stops cycled through, Mattias Ekstrom, who pitted on Lap 12, led Ambrose and Johnson. On Lap 41, Johnson reclaimed second from Ambrose, then moved to the lead two laps later.
On Lap 52, Ambrose pitted from second place, part of a three-stop strategy.
At the halfway mark, Johnson led Martin Truex Jr. by a whopping 13.846 seconds. Then it was Gordon, Montoya, Kurt Busch and points leader Kevin Harvick.
The second caution flew on Lap 59, when Dave Blaney stopped on the track in Turn 7. After the pit stops, the order was Boris Said, Tony Stewart, Ambrose, Eckstrom, David Ragan, Biffle and Johnson, the four-time champ the first of the leaders to pit.
The race restarted on Lap 61, Ambrose taking the lead in a single lap. Ragan then spun, but the track stayed green. Four laps later, though, another caution flew when Brad Keselowski went off track at Turn 10. Meanwhile, Truex, Gordon and Montoya were ill with each other for making contact on the track.
The green flew on Lap 67, but a split second later, the tail end of the field got wadded up on the frontstretch, bringing out a red flag.
After a delay of 20 minutes, 18 seconds, Ambrose and Johnson bolted out front on the Lap 69 restart. Johnson pitted on Lap 79, with leader Ambrose coming one lap later, exiting the pits ahead of Johnson.
The new leader was Said, who led Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Scott Speed, with Ambrose sixth and Johnson seventh.
Joey Logano spun after getting nailed by Montoya, bringing out caution No. 5 on Lap 86. Said restarted in the lead ahead of Keselowski, Ambrose, Robby Gordon and Johnson. Said got a terrible restart after a bump from Keselowski, with Ambrose and Johnson going back out front.
Ekstrom got nudged off road in Turn 8, bringing out a yellow on Lap 93. Ambrose held sway on the restart, quickly building a 2-second lead.
Keselowski brought out his second caution on Lap 104, spinning in Turn 7.
Under caution, Ambrose cut his engine off and lost position, with NASCAR moving Johnson into the lead, Robby Gordon second and Ambrose back to seventh.
The race restarted on Lap 106, Johnson breaking away cleanly and holding on to win his first road course race in 307 career Cup starts.
LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
PDF> UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350 - INFINEON RACEWAY
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen 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. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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