LAS VEGAS – Three races, three top-five finishes.
That's the resume Dale Earnhardt Jr. has put together to start the 2015 season after finishing fourth Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
"Second, fourth, it doesn't matter if you don't win, but happy with the Nationwide Chevrolet all day long," Earnhardt said. "We're going to get one. I want to win. We're going to get there."
His three Hendrick Motorsports teammates weren't quite as lucky despite showing signs of a big day throughout the race.
It began with Jimmie Johnson, who led 45 laps but had to head to pit road from the lead during green-flag racing due to a possible loose tire. From there, two tire issues that caused the No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS to make contact with the wall on both occasions sent Johnson to the garage and ultimately a 41st-place finish.
When Johnson first made contact with the wall, Jeff Gordon also made contact with the rear of a competitor's car as the drivers were looking to slow down to avoid Johnson. After having moved all the way from the rear of the pack into the top 10, Gordon then had to battle the aerodynamics of the damaged vehicle for the rest of the afternoon and left with an 18th-place result.
Kasey Kahne was also involved in an incident when a competitor sent him toward the wall. Kahne was pleased with how the No. 5 team repaired the damage, but the Time Warner Cable Chevrolet SS was still affected by the incident for the remainder of the event. After spending much of the race in the top three, he finished 17th.
Below is a recap of how all four drivers fared at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 TIME WARNER CABLE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 17th
STANDINGS: 6th
RECAP: After starting in the top three, Kahne maintained that position for the first 25 laps of the race. He was in the runner-up position for Lap 1, but was passed by Earnhardt on Lap 2 and remained in third position until the competition caution at Lap 25. The No. 5 Time Warner Cable team elected for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment on pit road during the yellow, which meant he restarted in 10th. By Lap 45, however, Kahne was back in the top five, and seven laps later he moved into third place behind only teammates Johnson and Earnhardt. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops and a caution flag that waved shortly thereafter, Kahne found himself in second for a restart at Lap 87. He held on to that runner-up position until the next cycle of green-flag pit stops – which was once again quickly followed b a caution flag. He was still in second for the restart, but quickly fell back to fourth place. However, he kept pushing and on Lap 148 made his way to third, then on Lap 156 got back to second position. At Lap 192, however, just after Earnhardt passed Kahne to put him in third, a competitor drove Kahne into the wall, and shortly thereafter a caution flag waved. Kahne headed to pit road for repairs and managed to stay on the lead lap. He took the ensuing restart from 17th and made it to 16th with 67 laps remaining. He gambled during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, staying out long past the rest of the field to move back into the top five, but once he finally headed to pit road, he emerged back outside of the top 15 and finished 17th.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 3M CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 18th
STANDINGS: 30th
RECAP: Despite earning his first career pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gordon was forced to start from the back of the pack thanks to an incident during a practice session that meant the No. 24 3M team would utilize a backup car. But he didn't let a 41st-place start deter him. Just like teammate Johnson last week at Atlanta, Gordon quickly moved through the field. He was the biggest mover on Lap 7, when he had already passed seven competitors. The crowd paid him tribute on Lap 24 by standing and waving No. 24 towels, and after 25 laps, when the yellow flag waved for a competition caution, Gordon had moved up to 22nd position. At Lap 38 he cracked the top 20, and by Lap 56 the driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet SS had passed 24 competitors. At lap 93, Gordon moved as high as 11th position, but it wasn't until more than 40 laps later that he finally cracked the top 10. Gordon continued moving up the pack until Lap 172, when Johnson encountered a tire issue that caused him to make contact with the wall. During the incident, Gordon made contact with the back of another car, causing damage to the front of the No. 24 Chevrolet SS. He headed to pit road multiple times during the caution flag for repairs but managed to remain on the lead lap. He continued to battle the aerodynamics for the rest of the afternoon due to the damage to the front of his car, and though he gambled on a cycle of green-flag pit stops and stayed on the track along with Kahne long past when the rest of the field pitted – getting into the top five in the process – he finally was forced to pit and emerged outside of the top 15. He ultimately finished 18th.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 41st
STANDINGS: 7th
RECAP: Johnson began the race in the top 10, and by Lap 16, he improved that position to the top five. He was running fifth when a competition caution was declared at the conclusion of Lap 25, but a quick, two-tire stop by the No. 48 pit crew allowed Johnson to return to the track in third. On Lap 41, Johnson passed teammate Earnhardt for second place, and two laps later, he took the lead. He headed to pit road for a green-flag pit stop on Lap 77, and by the time the field cycled through its stops, Johnson was leading once again when a caution flag for debris waved at Lap 81. Johnson held onto the lead on the restart, but lost it on Lap 92 when he felt a vibration and immediately headed to pit road due to a potentially loose tire. That put Johnson a lap down in 35th position, but he kept battling and by Lap 120 was up to 24th. At Lap 155, Johnson had moved up to 19th and was the second car a lap down, battling to move into position to be the lucky dog. But at Lap 172, he encountered a tire issue that caused him to make contact with the wall, forcing a caution flag. He headed to pit road multiple times for repairs and managed to stay just one lap down in 27th position. But just a few laps later, the same issue reoccurred and he once again made contact with the wall. The No. 48 Chevrolet SS headed to the garage but the crew worked hard to get Johnson back onto the track. He finished the race in 41st.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 4th
STANDINGS: 2nd
RECAP: Earnhardt started the race just behind teammate Kahne, but by Lap 2 he passed him to move into second position. That's where he remained until the Lap 25 competition caution, when a speedy, two-tire pit stop helped Earnhardt win the race off pit road. He took the restart as the leader, and though he quickly lost the lead, he settled back into second. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Earnhardt found himself in fourth just in time for another caution flag to wave. After the restart on Lap 87, he moved up to third behind Kahne, which is where he remained until the next set of green-flag pit stops. Once again a caution flag followed shortly after the green-flag pit stop cycle was completed, and Earnhardt took the restart in fourth position. He quickly fell back to fifth, and didn't find his way back up to fourth until Lap 164. But from there he quickly moved back into third position just behind teammate Kahne. On a restart following a caution, Earnhardt passed Kahne to move into second, and then on the next restart with 69 laps to go, Earnhardt took the lead of the race. However, two laps later he lost it and settled back into second. After the final cycle of green-flag pit stops – in which Earnhardt gambled and took just two tires to try to leapfrog the leader – Earnhardt once again found himself in second with 16 laps to go. But he lost two more positions before the end of the race and finished fourth, securing his third top-five finish in as many races to start the season.