Jimmie Johnson brought the Lowes Chevrolet through the chaos and mass destruction to claim the six-shooters in victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson, whose car sported a unique red and white paint scheme to honor the employees of Lowes, was strong from the beginning of the weekend.
Joey Logano scored his first Chase victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Sylvania 300 today by holding off Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick. It was Logano's seventh career win and his fourth of the season. The victory locks both Penske teams into the next round of the Chase.
Brad Keselowski claimed his second victory in a row and fifth for the season at Chicagoland Speedway in the opening race of the chase. With the victory he secured a spot in the Contender round of the run for the championship. The victory was the first for Ford Motor Company at Chicagoland Speedway.
I don’t normally put a lot of stock into the notion that statistics can accurately foretell who will win a race. There are far too many variables in a sport where luck, the actions of another driver and even Mother Nature can conjure up the unlikeliest of winners. But some statistics are difficult to ignore.
Carl Edwards won his first road course in Sonoma, California Sunday. He ended a five race Hendrick Motorsports win streak that started in Kansas. Edwards took the lead from Marcos Ambrose with 25 laps to go and never looked back.
Jamie McMurray won his second consecutive pole at Sonoma Raceway after a final run in the closing minutes of Knockout Qualifying with a track record qualifying speed of 96.350 mph. This is his third pole at Sonoma and his tenth series career pole.
Jimmie Johnson finally beat Michigan International Speedway. "We've figured out every way to lose this race." Johnson remarked in victory lane, "We finally figured out how to win one." The victory was Johnson's third in four weeks and his 69th career victory. Johnson held off pole sitter Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski for the win after a four tire stop on the final pit sequence. Johnson lead 39 of the 200 laps.
“I know that we haven’t had the best of times but its days like today that we work hard for,” she said. Patrick went on to say, “I’m just proud of everyone for working really hard and believing in me.”
On the final set of pit stops, Jeff Gordon took the lead from Kevin Harvick during Saturday night's 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway and was able to hold off Harvick by two car lengths at the finish line and capture his 89th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career victory.
Kansas is not as sexy as Talladega, I admit. It is not a Daytona, a Darlington, and it is no Indianapolis. I think having the race named after a series of sponsors instead of seeking a real identity might have something to do with that. Still, some big names have been among the 16 winners there since they first started up the engines back in 2001.
