With their intro songs, as well as the voices of their children singing the national anthem ringing in the drivers’ ears, here is what was surprising and not surprising from 52nd Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at the new, old Bristol.
Johnson finished second at Bristol and clinched a spot in the Chase For The Cup. He moved up two places to second in the Sprint Cup point standings, 11 behind Greg Biffle.
From the older pole sitter Mark Martin, celebrating thirty years of racing at MIS, to Kid Rock giving the command, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 43rd annual Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
After passing Brad Keselowski on lap 191, Johnson was poised to capture his series-best fourth win of the year. But a blown engine just four laps later ended Johnson’s day, and his 27th-place finished dropped him to fourth in the point standings.
As the 43rd Annual Pure Michigan 400 came to a close, the race was anyone’s game with some of the top names in the sport racing for the lead position. Brad Keselowski held the lead with 10 laps to go, as five-time champion Jimmie Johnson was putting the pressure on him.
In spite of a few drops of rain and much discussion about oil on the track in the waning laps, here is what else was surprising and not surprising for the 27th annual Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen.
Johnson finished third at Watkins Glen, posting his Sprint Cup series-best 11th top-5 result. Johnson jumped three spots to the top of the points standings, and leads Greg Biffle by one.
Under stormy skies that unfortunately ultimately proved fatal for one race fan, here is what was surprising and not so surprising from the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Although Denny Hamlin’s mother Mary Lou spends almost every weekend at the track, working her son’s merchandise hauler and interacting with the fans, she cherished a very special moment this past weekend at Pocono.
Johnson led heading to a lap 91 restart, but got loose upon accelerating and slid into the path of Matt Kenseth. Denny Hamlin slammed into Kenseth while Jeff Gordon took the lead. Ran ended the race two laps later, and Johnson was left with a disappointing 14th-place finish.
