Jimmie Johnson likes to make history. His biggest history making accomplishment thus far has been winning five straight Sprint Cup Series Championships. Saturday in Daytona, Johnson added one more major accomplishment to his resume, a Daytona sweep.
After taking the win in the Great American Race to kick off the season, Johnson came back to the track for the second time this season and showed the racing world just what he was made of. Johnson’s victory in the Coke Zero 400 made him the first driver in more than 30 years to sweep the Daytona races in more than 30 years. The last driver to accomplish such a feat was legendary driver Bobby Allison back in 1982; 31 years ago. “I don’t think I made a bad move tonight. I’m pretty proud of that,” Johnson said after the race. “Gosh, growing up in Southern California and watching Bobby Allison … to do anything Bobby has done is pretty special.” Johnson’s win in Daytona kept him on top of the points standings and also tied him with Matt Kenseth with the most wins this season; four. Johnson has spent all but two weeks at the top of the standings this season. To say he has dominated this season would be an understatement. After two seasons of missing out on the coveted Championship trophy, Johnson is more determined than ever to return to the top where he belongs. Mr. Five-Time, as his fans have dubbed him, is on a quest to be the best driver NASCAR has ever had. If he can win two more championships before he retires, he will tie the legendary Dale Earnhardt and the King Richard Petty. But that isn’t what Johnson wants; he wants more. Johnson’s goal before he hangs up the fire suit is simple, eight Championships, something that no driver has ever accomplished before. Johnson is well on his way to getting his six-pack, and no, I’m not talking about his fitness level. If Johnson and the rest of the No.48 crew from Hendrick Motorsports keep on the path that they have been on this season, being on the top of the standings after the checkered flag flies in Homestead won’t be too far of a reach. Only four other drivers have accomplished what Johnson did on Saturday night and him adding his name to that list something that Johnson fans and race fans alike will remember for a long time. Johnson and his team show no signs of slowing down and don’t look for this to be the last time he makes history this season.
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Dash 4 Cash Contenders: Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, Kyle Larson
Pole Sitter: Austin Dillon Points Leader at Green: Regan Smith GREEN FLAG: Austin Dillon and Travis Pastrana lead the field to green with Pastrana taking the lead thanks to help from Brian Scott (No.2) Lap 3: Pastrana and Scott attempt a switch and loose the lead. A. Dillon to the point. Lap 4: Dillon and Sadler loose the lead to Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Lap 6: Lead Change: Dillon and Kurt Busch Lap 8: Sam Hornish Jr takes the lead with help from Logano Lap 32: Regan Smith takes the lead from Hornish by separating him from Logano Lap 34: Hornish and Logano take the lead back Lap 34: Green Flag pit stops start Lap 38: Brian Vickers comes out on top after green flag stops cycle through Lap 41: Hornish takes the lead once again Lap 48: Caution for debris: Most teams hit pit road. Lap 52: Restart: Sadler takes the lead shortly after the green flag 34 to go: Hornish to the lead again 30 to go: Reed Sorenson blows up to bring out the second caution flag. 28 to go: Under caution, teams hot pit road with Logano coming out on top 23 to go: Vickers takes the lead on the restart 22 to go: Vickers slides into the grass from the lead. No caution 21 to go: Rookie Kyle Larson takes the lead for the first time 18 to go: Hornish takes the lead again. Vickers now rides 33rd. 14 to go: Matt Kenseth takes the lead. The No.01 loses power and attempts to hit pit road 11 to go: Caution for the No.01 of Mike Wallace. Loses power on the car before pit road 7 to go: Green flag. Hornish to the lead for a moment but Kenseth quickly takes point 6 to go: Hornish/Logano and Kenseth/Buescher battle for the lead 4 to go: Austin Dillon takes the lead as a huge crash erupts behind them then Pastrana clips the nose of Cole Whitt. Red Flag: Pastrana, Robert Richardson, Jason White, and Jeffrey Earnheardt take the brunt of the damage Sam Hornish led 67 of the 101 laps, pushed by Joey Logano but they sit 9th and 10th with 4 laps to go. GWC: Kenseth and A. Dillon lead the field to green. 2 to go: Kenseth/James Buescher/Sadler take it triple tandem White Flag: Kenseth and Buescher pull away Checkers: Kenseth, Buescher, Sadler, Kurt Busch, A.Dillon, Larson, Hornish, Smith, Logano and Bayne are your top-10. Sadler wins the Dash4Cash $10,000 WINNER: Matt Kenseth Tuesday is going to be a tough day for more than 30 different cars across two of NASCARs top series when it comes to penalties and sanctions. During tech inspection on Thursday in preparation for the Coke Zero 400, NASCAR officials found 16 different Sprint Cup Series teams to have modified roof flap spacers on their cars.
The following Sprint Cup teams were found with the modified Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Aric Almirola, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Trevor Bayne, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip and Martin Truex Jr. Along with the 16 Sprint Cup teams, the violations led NASCAR to check the rook flaps of the Nationwide Series teams too. Bayne, Busch, Brian Vickers, Cole Whitt, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Landon Cassill, Kenseth, Blake Koch, Mike Bliss, Michael Annett, Travis Pastrana, Reed Sorenson, Robert Richardson, Jason White and Dexter Stacey. According to NASCAR, “the roof flaps are built to deploy and allow air to escape from inside the cockpit of the car if the car is spun, lessening the chance it would become airborne.” The roof flap spacers confiscated from the various teams weren’t all modified the same way. Some had holes drilled in them, others were the wrong size. Sanctions and penalties for these modified parts will likely be handed down on Tuesday from NASCAR. |
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October 2013
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