Jimmie Johnson denied Brad Keselowski a date with immortality by stealing the victory in Texas on Sunday.
The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet led only six laps on his way to scoring his 75th career victory, fifth win of the season and sixth at Texas Motor Speedway.
Johnson said that he “just kept pressure on him (Keselowski). I could see that he was really tight and that was the first I had seen him that vulnerable all day. I just kept the pressure on him, kept searching for line. He saw me coming on the top and protected it. I just kept trying to put pressure on him hoping for a mistake. He got real loose off of Turn 2 and I had a big run down the backstretch and drove it in really far into Turn 3 hoping to hear clear. Once I did I knew I was home free.”
The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford led 312 of the 334 laps on his way to getting passed for the win and finishing runner-up.
“The 48 car had mega turn that last run and I couldn’t keep the turn and it kept pushing real bad. I did everything I could to hold him off, but he was way faster that last run. Their team did a hell of a job and found speed and my team did a hell of a job too. We led 300-some laps and these debris yellows always favor someone and it wasn’t our day for them to favor us. I am still very proud of our effort today. We will have a great shot at winning next week. We really needed to win this one and I know I gave it my all,” said Keselowski.
Kevin Harvick led 11 circuits on his way to rounding out the podium in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Busch led one lap and finished his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in fourth. Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth followed by Kurt Busch in seventh. Martin Truex Jr. finished eighth, Jeff Gordon finished ninth and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-10.
Joey Logano was the only Chase driver outside the top-10. A flat tire 11 laps into the race relegated him to a 40th-place finish.
Jeff Gordon leaves Texas with a two-point lead over Kyle Busch. Harvick leaves in third place, three points behind the leader. Martin Truex Jr. leaves Texas in fourth, six points back. Carl Edwards is fifth in the standings, 13-points back. Keselowski leaves in sixth place, 25 points behind Gordon. Kurt Busch is seventh (-34) and Logano leaves at the bottom of the title contender rankings, 69 points back.
Now mathematically unable to race his way in next week, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford must win at Phoenix in order to race for the championship at Homestead.
“Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. We will be ready for Phoenix. This team is strong, Logano said.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Sunday, November 08, 2015
1. (8) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334, $462976.
2. (1) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 334, $394391.
3. (2) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 334, $280475.
4. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334, $242766.
5. (13) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 334, $170575.
6. (10) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 334, $171240.
7. (7) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 334, $157615.
8. (23) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 334, $160910.
9. (18) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 334, $172351.
10. (27) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 334, $158556.
11. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 334, $156576.
12. (6) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 334, $153326.
13. (20) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 334, $120440.
14. (21) Brian Scott(i), Chevrolet, 334, $127748.
15. (14) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 334, $142973.
16. (11) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 334, $116140.
17. (30) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 334, $137398.
18. (24) Aric Almirola, Ford, 334, $143526.
19. (12) Greg Biffle, Ford, 333, $137148.
20. (16) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 333, $120765.
21. (28) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 333, $113540.
22. (19) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 333, $137240.
23. (15) David Ragan, Toyota, 333, $132079.
24. (32) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 332, $130910.
25. (36) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 331, $104265.
26. (17) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 330, $126123.
27. (39) Cole Whitt, Ford, 330, $115398.
28. (43) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 330, $120587.
29. (41) David Gilliland, Ford, 329, $108340.
30. (35) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 329, $103130.
31. (37) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 329, $99915.
32. (40) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 329, $99690.
33. (34) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 329, $99473.
34. (33) Michael McDowell, Ford, 328, $99240.
35. (38) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 328, $99040.
36. (42) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 326, $98810.
37. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 304, $126510.
38. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 304, $111852.
39. (29) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 296, $134355.
40. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 268, $132988.
41. (31) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Engine, 236, $81780.
42. (22) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Accident, 52, $104994.
43. (25) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, Accident, 26, $74280.
