Johnson finds Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway

FORT WORTH, Texas – For the second consecutive week, a Hendrick Motorsports driver eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup found Victory Lane in the Chase’s Eliminator Round.

Last week, it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. On Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, it was Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson passed teammate Jeff Gordon for the lead on the first green-white-checkered attempt, and he held off two competitors on the final green-white-checkered attempt to take home the victory after leading a race-high 191 laps.

“It’s just a testament to this team and the fact that we’ll never give up. We’ll always keep fighting and keep trying to make our cars better,” Johnson said. “We’re not in the Chase, we’re not where we wanted to be, fighting for a championship, but great day today here with this Red Vest Lowe’s Chevrolet. I’m so happy to win this race and to say thank you to all the men and women who work in the stores and wear that vest each and every day.”

Gordon entered the first green-white-checkered attempt as the leader, but a competitor made contact with him and caused him to lose major track position and forced another caution. Gordon ultimately finished 29th after leading 49 laps.

“Out of nowhere I just got slammed. … It cut my left-rear tire,” Gordon said. “You’re racing for a win and a championship, you don’t go slam somebody and cut their left-rear tire.”

While Gordon was not happy with the competitor, he noted that he was happy for his teammate for grabbing the win.

“We had the car, we had the position,” Gordon said. “I’m so proud of my team, and I’m proud of Jimmie Johnson for winning that race.”

Gordon is now fourth in the Chase standings, one point above the cut-off line.

Earnhardt took home a sixth-place finish to follow up his win from last week. Kasey Kahne was involved in a late-race incident and was scored 38th.

Below is an in-depth look at how all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers fared in Sunday’s race.

KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS
Finished: 38th
Chase Standings: 15th
Recap: Kahne didn’t stay outside the top 10 for long after a 14th-place start. By Lap 10, he was already in ninth. At Lap 28 he moved all the way up to seventh, and 10 laps later he made his way to sixth. When the first caution flag of the race waved at Lap 41, Kahne was in fifth. The No. 5 crew kept him in fifth on the race off pit road, and after the restart, he quickly made his way to third at Lap 49. At Lap 64, he settled into second place behind teammate Johnson. On the first cycle of green-flag pit stops, however, he fell back to eighth as the field cycled through pit road. He moved up to sixth by Lap 124, but was passed by teammate Earnhardt on the next lap to move to seventh. After the second green-flag pit stop cycle, he once again returned to the track in eighth position. That is where he remained at the halfway point of the race, and he gained a position by a restart following a caution at Lap 183. He remained in the top 10 until a restart at Lap 211, when he took the green flag in 11th. He fell back in the pack, however, running in 16th at Lap 237, and 21st with 65 laps to go. Kahne spun out due to caution late in the race but was able to return to the track, though a second late-race incident ended his day and he was scored 38th.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS
Finished: 29th
Chase Standings: 4th
Recap: Starting the race from the outside pole, Gordon heard from crew chief Alan Gustafson on the radio as the green flag waved. “334 (laps) today,” Gustafson said. “Let’s get it done.” For the first 30 laps of the race, Gordon continued to run in second position. But on Lap 31, teammate Johnson passed him and a competitor passed both Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the process, moving Gordon to fourth. At Lap 41, a caution flag waved for debris. Gordon lost position on pit road, returning to the track in 10th, but the slow time was due to a heads-up decision by the No. 24 crew. A lugnut was stuck on the hubcap, and the crew removed the right-front tire to fix the problem before moving on to the left-side tires. He steadily made his way back up the running order, moving to ninth by Lap 50, eighth on Lap 64, seventh on Lap 72, sixth on Lap 76 and all the way up to fourth on Lap 88 just before a cycle of green-flag pit stops. Once the field cycled through the pit stops, Gordon was running fifth. At Lap 98 he moved into fourth, and seven laps later he found his way into the top three. When Johnson headed to pit road from the lead during the next cycle of green-flag pit stops, Gordon got a bonus point for leading a lap. At Lap 154, he moved into second behind Johnson. That is where he remained until the race off pit road following a caution at Lap 205, when Gordon narrowly fell to third for the restart. He immediately moved back into second at Lap 211, and on Lap 217, he passed Johnson for the race lead. Following a caution flag on Lap 222, Gordon restarted second due to a competitor electing to take just two tires, but Gordon quickly passed him to retake the lead. The flip-flopping continued following a caution for debris with 92 laps to go, when Johnson won the race off pit road, and three-wide racing behind him on the restart left Gordon in fourth. With 65 to go, Gordon was back in second, and with 59 to go he took the lead yet again. Another caution saw Gordon in third on the restart, but the next caution left Gordon in 11th for the restart due to seven drivers staying off pit road. The string of cautions continued and Gordon got all the way back to third for a restart with 17 laps to go, quickly moving into second behind Johnson in time for the next caution flag to wave. That’s where he restarted with nine laps to go, but he got a big run to pass Johnson for the race lead. It looked like he would run away with the race, but a caution flag forced a green-white-checkered attempt. Gordon chose the outside lane, and during the restart a competitor made contact with him, which caused him to lose major track position and forced a second green-white-checkered attempt. He ultimately finished 29th.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S RED VEST CHEVROLET SS
Finished: 1st
Chase Standings: 11th
Recap: After rolling off the grid third, Johnson lost one position on Lap 4, but quickly regained it six laps later. At Lap 31, he passed his teammate Gordon but both Hendrick Motorsports drivers were passed by a competitor in the process, leaving Johnson in third. When a caution flag waved at Lap 41, Johnson picked up a position on pit road to return to the track in second. At Lap 54, he made his way to the lead of the race. The only time he lost the lead was during green-flag pit stops, but on both of those cycles in the first half of the race he returned to the lead once the field completed its pit stops. The No. 48 crew continued its success on pit road by keeping Johnson in first on the race back to the track after a caution flag waved at Lap 174. He kept the lead again on the next caution at Lap 205, but his run of 157 laps led was halted by Gordon at Lap 217. Johnson settled into second. A caution flag waved at Lap 222, and due to a competitor electing to take two tires, Johnson restarted in third, and fell back to sixth due to lining up behind the driver with two tires. But he quickly found his way back to third place, and shortly thereafter moved back into second behind Gordon. However, thanks to the No. 48 crew, Johnson won the race off pit road following a caution for debris with 92 laps to go and moved back into the race lead. The cautions were far from finished, however, and Johnson was as far back as ninth for a restart with 32 to go due to seven drivers staying off pit road. But he quickly got back up to fifth before the next caution flag waved, and he was in second by the next caution. Finally, he entered the first green-white-checkered attempt second behind Gordon, but Johnson fought for the lead and a competitor made contact with Gordon, putting Johnson in first for the final green-white-checkered attempt, and he held on for the lead. He finished the race with 191 laps led, the most of all drivers.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS
Finished: 6th
Chase Standings: 10th
Recap: Earnhardt rolled off the grid 12th, and gained a position on Lap 11. He moved into the top 10 11 laps later, and was running eighth when the first caution flag of the race was waved. He restarted sixth, but by Lap 72 was running 11th. He quickly made his way back into the top 10, and after the first cycle of green-flag pit stops, he was in sixth once again. He continued running anywhere from sixth to eighth position for the rest of the first half of the race. After a caution flag waved at Lap 174, Earnhardt restarted in fifth, but he fell back to seventh at Lap 200. In the race off pit road following a caution at Lap 222, Earnhardt was in 10th, but once again moved back up the pack quickly to eighth by Lap 237, which is where he remained at Lap 249. A string of caution flags lengthened the end of the race, and by the time the smoke cleared, Earnhardt had gone from 17th – where he ran for a restart with 32 laps to go – to a sixth-place finish after the second and final green-white-checkered attempt.