BRISTOL, Tenn. – On a race day filled with nearly six hours of rain delays, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon both fought their way back from two laps down to finish second and third, respectively, at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It marked Gordon’s fifth consecutive top-10 finish and first top-five result of the season. It was Johnson’s fourth top-five finish in a 2015 campaign that already features two wins.
“It was a wild night, but I’ve just got to thank my crew for all the hard work,” Johnson said. “We rallied back and got us second. We maybe had a shot at the win, but just thrilled to get such a great finish here at really one of the tougher tracks for me as a driver. Very stoked to be here. The Chevy was fast.”
Johnson passed Gordon on the green-white-checkered attempt that closed the race.
“I thought I got a really good restart, as good as I could ask for to be on that bottom lane,” Gordon said. “I’m pretty happy for this 3M Chevrolet to come home third. At one time it looked like we could maybe get second, but that was just chaos.”
The event, which was scheduled for 1 p.m., finished under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway, and it was an eventful race for all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
In addition to Gordon and Johnson falling off of the lead lap, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fell four laps down due to tire issues. Though he gained two of them back, finished the race down two laps in 16th position.
Kasey Kahne looked to be on his way to a top-10 finish – or even better – when a competitor made contact with the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS with less than 20 laps remaining in the race. The incident ended Kahne’s day and he was scored 37th.
Matt Kenseth took home the victory just ahead of Johnson and Gordon.
Below is a detailed look at how all four drivers fared on a long day at Bristol.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 GREAT CLIPS CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 37th
STANDINGS: 7th
RECAP: Kahne took advantage of a top-10 starting position early in Sunday’s race, moving up from eighth to sixth before the first caution flag of the day and accompanying red flag for rain just 22 laps into the event. After green-flag racing returned, a competition caution was called on Lap 60, and Kahne returned to the track for the ensuing restart in 12th as some competitors stayed off of pit road. He quickly made his way up to seventh place by Lap 92, but then began battling tight handling and fell outside of the top 10. But after another caution flag waved at Lap 167, Kahne began working his way back up the field. At the halfway mark of the race, he found himself back in ninth. And thanks to a speedy pit stop by the No. 5 Great Clips team, he gained another three positions on pit road during the next caution for light rain. By Lap 300, he had cracked the top five. On a restart at Lap 325, he jumped all the way up to second. On the next caution flag for debris, some competitors stayed on the track anticipating some potential weather, so Kahne took the restart on Lap 350 in 11th. He fell back to 14th, but he continued to battle for position. He got as high as seventh for a restart with 19 laps to go, but a competitor made contact with the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS and Kahne was involved in an incident that ended his day. He was scored with a 37th-place finish.
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 3M CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 3rd
STANDINGS: 9th
RECAP: Gordon began Sunday’s race in the 23rd position, but like his teammate Johnson, got to work quickly. By Lap 10 he was inside the top 20, and when the first caution flag of the day was waved just before a red flag for rain, Gordon was already up to 17th. After green-flag racing returned, a competition caution was called on Lap 60, and Gordon returned to the track in 15th for the ensuing restart. He completed his push for the top 10 by Lap 78 and pushed up as high as sixth on Lap 133. On Lap 209, however, Gordon began to fall off the pace and headed to pit road for what he suspected was a loose tire. He returned to the track down two laps in 29th position. Just past the halfway mark of the race, however, Gordon passed the leader to gain one of those laps back. At Lap 300, Gordon had worked his way to become the first car a lap down in 18th position. When a caution flag waved at Lap 311, Gordon was the lucky dog and moved back onto the lead lap in 15th. “Be patient,” crew chief Alan Gustafson said over the radio. “We’ll work our way back up front.” Seventy laps later, Gordon took a restart in 11th and immediately jumped all the way up to seventh. With 53 laps to go, Gordon jumped as high as third. He alternated between third and fourth all the way to a restart with less than 10 laps to go, when he lined up in fourth. He quickly jumped up to third and made his way into second just before another incident, which set up a green-white-checkered finish. He was passed by his teammate, Johnson, and finished the race third.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 2nd
STANDINGS: 4th
RECAP: Johnson started Sunday’s race in 28th, but didn’t stay there long. After 10 laps, Johnson was already the race’s biggest mover, and by Lap 14 he found himself inside the top 20. When the first caution flag of the day – and subsequent red flag for rain – was thrown, Johnson had gained 10 positions up to 18th. After green-flag racing returned, a competition caution was called on Lap 60, and Johnson returned to the track in 16th for the ensuing restart. He completed his push into the top 10 just before Lap 100 and got as high as seventh before a caution on Lap 167. A speedy effort by the No. 48 Lowe’s crew on pit road allowed him to gain a position on pit road, and during the restart he moved all the way up to fourth on Lap 181. That’s where he continued to run when a competitor made contact with the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS and set it toward the wall, causing a caution. Johnson headed to pit road for repairs twice during the caution but remained on the lead lap, restarting 17th. Shortly thereafter on Lap 311, Johnson was involved in another incident, spinning out. He fell a lap down but on the restart jumped to the top car a lap down. When a caution was thrown for debris shortly thereafter, Johnson was the lucky dog and made it to the lead lap once again. He battled back into the top 15 with less than 100 laps remaining, making it all the way into the top 10 with less than 30 laps remaining. He lined up sixth for a restart with less than 10 laps to go, and before another incident looked like it would set up a green-white-checkered finish, Johnson moved to fifth. When a car ahead of him headed to pit road, Johnson moved into fourth. When the green flag waved, Johnson quickly raced to third before passing his teammate, Gordon, to finish as the runner-up.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 MTN DEW DEWSHINE CHEVROLET SS
FINISHED: 16th
STANDINGS: 6th
RECAP: Earnhardt rolled off the grid 13th, and when a red flag was shown for rain 22 laps into the event, he had moved up to 11th. After green-flag racing returned, a competition caution was called on Lap 60, and Earnhardt returned to the track for the ensuing restart in 13th as some competitors stayed off of pit road. He made it back to ninth place on Lap 92, but less than 10 laps later he had to head to pit road for an unscheduled stop due to a right rear tire going down from slight contact on the racetrack. He returned to the track down two laps in 36th, but reported tire rub and returned to pit road. That put him four laps down in 40th. After a caution on Lap 167, however, Earnhardt took a wave-around and found himself down just two laps from the leaders. By the time another caution flag flew for light rain just past the halfway mark of the race, he was all the way up to 28th. On Lap 300, he had worked his way to become the first car two laps down in 21st position. He maintained that distinction on Lap 366 when he found himself in 19th. Earnhardt never gained back the laps – he finished the race down two laps – but he picked up three positions to take home a 16th-place finish.