FORT WORTH, Texas – On a weekend when Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick was inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame, his drivers did their part to add to the organization’s success in the state.
Saturday night, Jimmie Johnson took home his fifth victory at Texas Motor Speedway – adding to his all-time wins record at the track – and his first win in the spring race at the 1.5-mile oval.
It marks his second win of 2015.
“We have had an awesome, awesome start to the year,” Johnson said. “We just kept plugging at it and I think the off-week was good for us to sit down and relax, reboot and come back to the track and they brought me a fast race car that was good all weekend.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined Johnson in the top five with a third-place result, and all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers earned top-10 finishes thanks to gambles by the Nos. 24 and 5 teams that resulted in seventh- and eighth-place results, respectively.
“It was an exciting race,” Johnson said. “I hope the fans really enjoyed that one.”
Below is a detailed look at how all four teams fared Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 8th
STANDINGS: 5th
RECAP: On his birthday, Kahne qualified fourth, and Saturday night he used that position to remain in the top 10 – and often the top five – for the first half of the race. After the first caution flag of the race, Kahne found himself in sixth for the restart at Lap 37. Forty laps later, Kahne moved back up to fifth, giving Hendrick Motorsports three of the top five cars in the race at the time. During a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Kahne moved as high as second place before heading to pit road for fuel, four tires and a chassis adjustment. When the field cycled through, Kahne was running seventh. But once again, he jumped back into the top five at Lap 96. When a caution flag was thrown for debris, the No. 5 team helped Kahne race off of pit road in third for the restart on Lap 114. Kahne remained in the top five, and when a cycle of green-flag pit stops began, he stayed on the track to lead a lap before heading to pit road. Running in the top 10, Kahne reported a vibration and decided to head to pit road for an unscheduled stop for four tires. It turned out that the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS did in fact have a loose tire, and the call paid off. When the next cycle of green-flag pit stops began, Kahne remained on the track to retake the lead. On Lap 222, Kahne led a one-two-three Hendrick Motorsports trio atop the leaderboard. On Lap 226, Johnson passed Kahne for the lead just before a caution flag waved, which helped the No. 5 team get back on the same pit schedule as the rest of the field. Kahne took the restart with 100 laps to go as the runner-up, and he continued running in the top five, even moving once again to the runner-up spot after the No. 5 team elected to stay off of pit road during a late-race caution. When a handful of competitors – including teammate Gordon -- elected to take two tires during the final caution of the race, Kahne was pushed back to eighth for the restart with 21 laps to go. He fell back as far as 11th with 10 laps to go, but recovered to finish in eighth place, rounding out all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the top 10.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 PANASONIC CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 7th
STANDINGS: 13th
RECAP: Gordon rolled off the grid 12th, but within five laps he was inside the top 10. After the first caution flag of the race, he returned to the track in seventh for the restart on Lap 37, and he quickly moved into the top five. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Gordon remained in fifth, though after a caution for debris meant another trip to pit road, Gordon returned to the track in seventh. From that restart on Lap 109, he fell back to 14th and continued to battle the car’s handling. “I don’t know what happened,” Gordon reported over the radio. The No. 24 Panasonic Chevrolet SS remained just outside of the top 10, battling up to 12th at Lap 197. At Lap 220, however, as green-flat pit stops began, Gordon reached the top 10 before he headed to pit road himself. After a caution flag shortly thereafter, Gordon lined up 15th for a restart with 100 laps to go. He quickly passed two competitors before another caution flag waved, and he reported that the car felt “decent” after he had been battling tight handling all evening. Gordon continued to battle but couldn’t make up enough ground to compete for the win – until crew chief Alan Gustafson made the call that the No. 24 Panasonic Chevrolet SS would take just two tires during the final pit stop of the race. That allowed Gordon to take the restart with 21 laps to go in second place after picking up 11 spots on pit road. He held on to take home a seventh-place result.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PROSERVICES CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 1st
STANDINGS: 6th
RECAP: Like teammate Kahne, Johnson began the race in the top five. And like Kahne, he used it to his advantage early in the race. After the first caution of the race, Johnson took the restart on Lap 37 in fifth place – but within a lap had already moved into the runner-up position. That’s where he remained, and he did not give much feedback over the radio as he was happy with the car’s performance. Through a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Johnson essentially maintained his position but returned to the track in third due to a competitor that was on a different pit schedule. But just before a caution for debris on Lap 109, Johnson fought all the way into the lead. He proceeded to win the race off of pit road to maintain that lead, which he didn’t relinquish until Lap 125. He reclaimed it, however, on Lap 154, just before another cycle of green-flag pit stops. He held onto it until the next green-flag pit stop cycle, during which Kahne took the lead as he was on a different pit schedule than the leaders. On Lap 222, Kahne led a 1-2-3 Hendrick Motorsports trio with Johnson in second and Earnhardt in third. But four laps later, Johnson had retaken the lead just in time for another caution flag. He once again led the race off of pit road for a restart with 100 laps to go, and repeated the feat during the next caution for a restart with 85 laps to go. At that point, he reported to crew chief Chad Knaus that his car couldn’t drive away from the competition like it could two stops prior. So Knaus let Johnson know that the No. 48 chassis was reverted to the setup from two stops ago. When yet another caution flag waved with 75 laps to go, Johnson headed to pit road but a handful of competitors remained on the track, so Johnson restarted in 11th. But he kept battling through the field even as more caution flags waved. Finally with 21 laps to go, the race went green for the duration. Johnson took the restart in seventh, and within three laps was up to third. With 14 laps remaining, he made perhaps the move of the race, going inside of both of the competitors ahead of him to retake the lead. He didn’t look back, holding on for his fifth win at Texas Motor Speedway – and first in the spring race.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONWIDE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 3rd
STANDINGS: 7th
RECAP: Earnhardt began Saturday night’s race 25th, but before Lap 10 arrived, he was already inside the top 20. By Lap 17, he had advanced 10 positions to 15th, and he made it all the way to 10th before the first caution of the race. He had to head to pit road twice, however, as the second trip was to tighten lugnuts on a loose wheel. That put him back in 30th position for the restart on Lap 37. On Lap 53, he was back in the top 20, and at Lap 103 – after a cycle of green-flag pit stops – Earnhardt had once again cracked the top 10. Following another caution, Earnhardt took the restart on Lap 114 in 10th, but a power move during three-wide racing allowed Earnhardt to jump to fifth on Lap 115. Over the radio, he heard a congratulatory, “Oh yeah, good job man,” as he moved into fourth on Lap 126. After a caution flag, Earnhardt was in third for a restart on Lap 177. With 126 laps to go, he moved into second behind Johnson. Any time Earnhardt fell out of the top five for a restart, he quickly charged right back toward the front for the remainder of the race. The final example was with 21 laps to go and Earnhardt lined up in 10th. On the restart, he battled all the way up to third place in just one lap. He fell back to fourth, but just four laps later moved back into third place. He battled for second place all the way to the checkered flag, taking over the position multiple times before narrowly falling to a third-place finish at the line.