Tag: Jimmie Johnson

Its a week away from the ROLEX 24 and what do we know…? If the qualifying run in the Motul Pole Award 100 was any indication we’re in for some good racing to officially open the IMSA season book for 2021.

We’ve seen Jimmie Johnson wrestle with the ALLY #48 Cadillac. With NASCAR in his rear view and some INDY action on the horizon Johnson is using the ROLEX to get some wheel time variety. He’ll have some experience sharing the driver seat with Kamui Kobayashi, Simon Pagenaud, Mike Rockenfeller. All have 24 hour Daytona experience and multiple series history for road racing. The off track conversation should also be fun with Japan, France, Germany and USA mixing accents.

Action Express is backing the ALLY #48 but also have 2020 NASCAR Champion Chase Elliott in another Cadillac, the Whelen Engineering #31. He’ll be joined by Action team drivers bringing lots of experience to keep Chase on track. Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr and Mike Conway have years combined to push the competition.

Meyer Shank Racing will be putting commentator and driver A.J. Allmendinger on track with previous ROLEX 24 winner Juan Pablo Montoya. Beyond Montoya’s multiple series skill set, the Sirius XM / AutoNation #60 Acura will seat Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla.

What else…? INDYCAR is well represented for the ROLEX. There are very talented female drivers sharing the seat of the #88 GTD Team Hardpoint Porsche. Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen share the car with Rob Ferriol and Earl Bamber. The GTD class is also the most crowded with 19 cars in the field.

The LMP3 class is being added to the main event for 2021 making five series running in the ROLEX 24. Previously, LMP3 had run with a Prototype Challenge event. All five classes ran practice in the Roar Before the 24 and the Motul Pole Award 100, which is also a new qualifying segment for 2021.

For the pole, Action Express #31 came across on top after starting at the rear of the DPi class. A weight penalty put them back. The advance to the front in the short order of the qualifying race shows the strength of the #31 team as a preview of the ROLEX 24.

DPi: #31 Action Express / Whelen Eng. (Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway, Pipo Derani, Chase Elliott)
LMP2: #52 ORECA of PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports (Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen)
LMP2: #52 ORECA of PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports (Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen)
GTLM: #4 Corvette C8.R (Nick Tandy, Alexander Sims)
GTD: #96 BMW M6 GT3 of Turner Motorsport (Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley)

Rain and racing. It is not a good mix but Bristol held out and went under the lights for the Food City 500 and the fans that hung in there saw a really good race full of what makes Bristol such a thing.

It is short track racing in a bowl and they mixed it up nicely. Bumps, spins and tangles put some in the garage and everyone that crossed the finish had some kind of battle damage.

The race started a bit late and went 22 laps before a caution and rain during clean up put the covers on and Penske team mates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski in the garage.

Several hours later the lights were coming on and the laps were being run. At the end of the day, or night, it was Matt Kenseth crossing where he started… In front. Other contenders and front runners were caught up in accidents that put them either off the pace or off the track completely.

Kevin Harvick, out front for a lion’s share, saw his run stop quickly when he caught the aftermath of a Jeb Burton spin which was set off by a touch from Jimmie Johnson. Harvick’s #4 Chevy was heavily damaged and out of the run.

Stewart-Haas team mate Kurt Busch was also putting in a run for the front but a late race pit for fresh tires put him in 6th on the restart and with 8 laps to go was suddenly stopped when Carl Edwards lost it running with Gordon near the front. Busch and the #41 had no place to go but into Edward’s #19.

The remaining Stewart-Haas drivers, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick, managed to roll out with top 10 finishes.
Jimmie Johnson, despite damage and being well in the back at one point, managed to get back to second place with team mate Jeff Gordon right behind. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Ryan Newman filled the top 5.

Bristol was a boost for many in the field. Danica Patrick continues to run well with this top 10. It was Stewart’s best finish this season. Matt Kenseth has his first win since 2013. Gordon also needed a good run with not so hot performance in his last full season. Newman in the top 5 was a good run following the penalties for his team over tire handling issues.

There was also drama around the #11 and Denny Hamlin. The weather, the starting and stopping or just luck put him in a painful situation with a stiff neck. The long rain delay saw no real relief and the decision was made to put Xfinity driver Erik Jones into the #11 which he had never driven and was set, of course, for Hamlin. Jones finished 26th in his Sprint Cup “trial by Bristol fire” debut.

Now the focus rolls into Richmond. The scheduled night race of the Toyota Owners 400 is ramping up. The Xfinity series runs the night before. Some of the drivers will also be rolling out Thursday night in South Boston for the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown with the area’s top late model locals.

Hamlin should be loosened up and ready for his big charity event at SoBo and Richmon for the weekend.
Go Racing!

Texas saw a return to racing and the longer track for NASCAR and Sprint Cup following the Easter break. Jimmie Johnson made the late race move to pass Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick to take the checkers at the Duck Commander 500.

For Harvick, it was either the Easter peeps, the week off or the return to the larger track that put him back into a groove to challenge for the win and come over in 2nd. Up until Martinsville if he did not finish second he was winning. This weekend and Bristol puts him back into a short track situation and we’ll see if it was peeps or the larger track.

Johnson team mate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. crossed over in third with Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski coming across fourth and fifth.

Kurt Busch, Harvick’s team mate, has had a good, although late, start to the season but just can’t hit the win. Generally good finishes and the pole at Texas keeps him running but Texas left him from the pole to 14th.
So far, Stewart-Haas (Harvick), Hendrick (Johnson, Penske (Logano/Keselowski) have had the honors with Denny Hamlin (Gibbs) sneaking in for a win at Martinsville before Easter.

Next up is Bristol then Richmond with a little stop in between for some of the drivers making the run at South Boston Speedway for the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown to benefit Hamlin’s charity organization.

Virginia is getting a lot of big event racing packed into a relatively short time. Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond all fall in the span of just a few days over a month. Include South Boston and you have a full calendar of action.

Don’t hold back, Virginia – Go Racing!

Atlanta was a bit more damp, a bit more cold and bit more miserable for some on race day. The fans, of course, likely cleaned out the warm weather gear at Wal-Mart before coming in as Georgia is not known for the cold. Crashes and mechanical failures left some drivers out in the cold as well.

For a few that held it together and stayed clear of the crashes and had luck fall their way the temperature was just another variable to beat. Count race winner Jimmie Johnson in that group. Kevin Harvick, also, for starting in the back with a new engine and making his way to the second spot. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also made a run finishing third to match the Daytona opener. Joey Logano ran fourth with his Penske Ford after starting on the pole and keeps a points lead following the Daytona 500 win. Matt kenseth was on the front row for the last restart but fell off and still managed a top-5.

It is a few of the mid-pack finishes that caught my eye as the season is off with some of the usual, and unusual, racing drama. As usual, for the past few seasons, the Danica Patrick chatter is there. With several mishaps on the track at Atlanta putting the #10 at risk she managed to get by and around clean. A 16th place finish is not necessarily spectacular but it is still top 20 in a 43 car field.

For the unusual, it is the stand-ins for the Busch brothers putting their borrowed rides in the slots directly behind Patrick. Regan Smith drove suspended Kurt’s #41 Chevy to 17th and David Ragan put injured Kyle’s #18 in at 18th. Kurt Busch is out indefinitely with this domestic court issue and it is likely Kyle Busch could be out for a long recovery after the XFinity crash at Daytona.

For the next race at Las Vegas Stewart-Haas has again put Smith in the #41. It is not yet a solid decision on whose name will be over the window beyond the Kobalt 400. For Ragan, his place in the #18 is just a little bit more solid. Of course it is Kyle’s car when he recovers but for the immediate future it appears Ragan will be dressed in M&Ms colors. Joe Gibbs Racing could put someone else in it before Kyle is given a medical green but pickings are slim. Good results by Ragan in the next couple of races could keep that decision in the desk.

Atlanta also put some big names off with crash damage. Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon were caught up and either in the garage or running laps down at the finish.

Gordon, in particular, is feeling the slips of the season as he was also out at Daytona with crash damage. It’s only two races down but his retirement season is off to a flat start.

The car changes, some of the rules changes and the “win in” CHASE format is still fresh so it is entirely too early to count anyone out. Only the racing will tell.

The year is 2013. On September 13th (Friday the 13th, btw) NASCAR made an unprecedented decision to put Gordon into the Chase as a 13th entry following a week of juggling and penalties concerning Michael Waltrip Racing drivers at Richmond.

Gordon logged his first win of the season in Martinsville at the GOODY’S Headache Relief Shot 500 which has injected new hope into the #24 with three races remaining. He has driven from the 13th points slot to 3rd. However, these next three races may stretch the luck of his drive. He is 27 points off the lead. The mathematics of racing keeps him within the margin but Lady Luck needs to keep smiling on the #24 and turn sour on Hendrick team mate Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing. The #48 and the #20 are tied for the first position following Martinsville. (more…)

Two weeks. What could happen…?

Apparently, a mishmashed medley of automotive mayhem.

It was only two weeks but in the scope there was a lot of racing, and a lot of driving, for us and for the top series around the world.

For us, it was a trek around a foreign country in a TDI (diesel) VW Golf. Foreign, but still within the language of the King’s English. The land of elves, faeries and leprechauns. Ireland. Left side driving, left side shifting and an added appreciation for driving skill were experiences taken away among the castles and landscapes. The roads are narrow, the cars are agile (most, anyway…) and the driving is on a different level than in the States. Imagine a VW Golf, a Ford Focus, a Chevy Cruze… a 3 series Bimmer… Now add 6 inches to each side. That is your lane at 60 mph. A vertical hedge with no shoulder is on the left. A truck on a blind curve is on your right coming at you. That is driving in Ireland, the UK and much of Europe. It may give a clue as to the European racing style.

And, to begin in Europe, pull up a pint as we catch up… (more…)

Jimmie Johnson keeps pushing but just can’t seem to cross into the front of the points. He won at Dover and almost had it in Charlotte but still holds a firm grip on second place. There is still enough room in the schedule to gain the points needed to move up but he does have to race better than the current leader, Matt Kenseth.

Talladega is next, followed by Martinsville. These two races offer big chances to move up, not just for Johnson but also for some that are back double digits. Kevin Harvick is 29 points off the front, while Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch are 36 and 37 points back. Talladega could shake the box quite a bit as the constant threat of a big crash taking out contenders lingers on every lap. The short track at Martinsville has been a winning track for Johnson and Gordon but the last bunch of meetings there have seen others pop into Victory Lane. (more…)