FORT WORTH, Texas – When the final caution flag of Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway waved, crew chief Chad Knaus knew what the No. 48 team needed to do.
“We made some small adjustments right there at the end,” Knaus said. “The car was pretty good the run leading up to that, so we kind of had a basis of where the car was. We made some small adjustments right there to be pretty aggressive, to try to make something happen.”
A top-five finish sounded good, but with Jimmie Johnson eliminated from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the team elected to be even more aggressive.
“You’ve got to go for the win,” Knaus said. “We made some changes there, let Jimmie light the fuse, put on his cape and go after it.”
Johnson returned from pit road to the track in third for the restart with 18 laps to go. Within one lap, he had moved into the runner-up position and was battling the leader for a shot at Victory Lane.
“I got to second pretty quick,” Johnson recalled. “I looked in the mirror. I had a lot of space between where I was and third. I knew that gave me an opportunity to run anywhere on the track -- I didn't have to worry about defending. Then it was a good, old-fashioned race. Just race your guts out. That part was fun.”
That’s exactly what Johnson did, and with four laps remaining, he made a big move in Turns 3 and 4 and passed the leader to move to the front of the pack.
He held on to win the race – his sixth career victory at Texas.
“Wish we were in the Chase, still fighting for the championship, but getting a win here does a lot for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports,” Johnson said. “Couple that with Jeff (Gordon)'s win last weekend, his hopes to go to Homestead and become the champion -- we definitely have a very excited 600-plus employees back in Charlotte, North Carolina.”
Knaus said the win – and the way Johnson raced so hard to get it – “speaks volumes about where the 48 is, the no-give-up attitude that we've got."
As the crew chief said, the driver put on his cape and got the job done.
“It is cool to hear,” Johnson smiled when told of the superhero comparison. “I wish I would have found a way to win a few more times this year. It's been a long, dry summer. Glad I found the cape. Wasn't too dusty or too far away.”