CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson said he and his team overcame some big obstacles during Wednesday's Darlington race.
The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZLE 1LE wasn't displeased with his result but said unforeseen circumstances made it difficult to adjust on the fly.
“It was a solid night for the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. We had to start in the back because of the crash during the first race. Things were looking pretty good early, we were able to march up through there," Johnson said. "But the competition caution, and just so many cautions honestly, affected our strategy and affected us being able to take advantage of our strong racecar and move forward."
Johnson said by the middle of the race he and the No. 48 team got into their groove but an incident in the middle of the race threw the squad off again.
"We were in a nice position and then we were caught a lap down when the caution came out when the 42 car spun from his flat tire," Johnson explained. "We had to start all over again. On that last restart, I think I was 14th and, fortunately, I was in the outside line, which was the place to be, and we worked our way up to eighth before the caution happened and the rain came.”
The race was called with 20 laps to go, allowing Johnson to officially finish the race in eighth. He ran a relatively clean race and was pleased he wasn't knocked out of contention like in the first Darlington event.
“It was a good rebound from a few days before; I wish I could have that weekend back," Johnson said. "I really felt like we had things going our way there and could have capitalized. But it’s nice to be back. Good finish in the top 10 and looking forward to going to Charlotte.”
Johnson and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers will return to racing on Sunday in the 600-mile event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race will start at 6 p.m. ET and air on FOX.