JOHNSON CAPITALIZES ON SHORT-RUN SPEED
Following a 12th-place finish at Darlington Raceway, Jimmie Johnson reflected on the speed of his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS.
“Our car had respectable short-run speed and then it would just get so loose,” Johnson said. “With all the long runs, that really didn’t work out well for us. I actually blew a tire with like 20 laps to go and fortunately was on my way into pit lane or almost to where I could turn into pit lane.”
He noted that the unfortunate tire trouble came at the opportune time, allowing him to get back on the track and make the most of the situation.
“Fortunately, I got lucky and I was able to get back out there on tires and drive back up to 12th, but blew a tire at the absolute right time if you are going to blow one and got to pit lane,” Johnson shared.
‘HARD-FOUGHT NIGHT’ FOR ELLIOTT
Chase Elliott concluded his night at the track “Too Tough to Tame” with an 11th-place result.
Elliott spent most of the race inside the top 15, battling to break into the top 10.
After the checkered flag waved, Elliott shared his thoughts on the night.
“This is the time of year to get it going and it was a hard-fought night,” Elliott said. “I thought we made the very most of what we had, and some days that’s all you can do.”
LATE-RACE CHALLENGES FOR EARNHARDT
Dale Earnhardt Jr. consistently ran in the top 15 for the first two segments of the race. He took the Stage 1 green-checkered flag in 13th and finished Stage 2 in 14th.
Unfortunately, a flat tire late in the race caused him to lose track position and finish 22nd.
“Just had a really bad vibration, came in and got tires, we had a flat at the very end,” Earnhardt said. “The right-rear was going down for a very long time and finally it went flat.”