Making history at the country’s if not the world’s most significant track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson added a fourth victory at the Crown Royal Presents The Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard solidifying his place in the annals of NASCAR history.
Dominating 99 of the 160 laps and holding off a hungry-for-a-win Kyle Busch, Johnson tied Jeff Gordon, his teammate at Hendrick Motor Sports, for career Cup wins at Indy.
Sunday’s win was Johnson’s third of the 2012 season tying him with 2011 defending champion Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski.
Lagging 4.758 seconds behind the victor, Busch had to settle for second.
Greg Biffle was third. Johnson’s teammate at HMS Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth and their teammate Gordon was fifth.
Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin stumbled in communication with his team leading to a sixth place finish. Ryan Newman turned in a seventh. Martin Truex Jr.’s eighth was a strong finish for the Michael Waltrip Racing driver. Keselowski finished ninth and Stewart was tenth.
Suffering a frustrating and disappointing entanglement with Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth
finished a crushing 35th dropping him out of the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup points.
He was dethroned by Earnhardt Jr. who holds the top spot by 14 points.
Biffle stands in third another week and Johnson remains in fourth again. Fifth is still held by Hamlin.
Sixth spot is reserved another week for Kevin Harvick. Truex Jr. moved up one place when he took seventh. Stewart slid down one spot to eighth. Keselowski picked up one position for ninth. Clint Bowyer fell one spot to tenth due to his 15th place finish on Sunday at Indy.
Racing returns to Pocono Raceway next weekend for the running of the Pennsylvania 400. I am thrilled to report that I will be attending the weekend’s events, including the Cup race, on my first media pass ever. Join me online – Facebook, Twitter, and this site – for race weekend information.
Meanwhile, the race will be broadcast on ESPN at 12noon EST on Sunday, August 5th. Following the race I will publish my Pennsylvania 400 Race Recap.
Candice Smith is a writer, columnist, and blogger as well as creator of the widely popular Chief 187™ Chatter. Her works have been featured under the pen name Chief 187™ around the Internet including a syndicated post within the Indie Republic Network where she has conducted in-depth interviews with musicians, Mixed Martial Artists, and other personalities as well as waxes poetic on myriad topics. Candice Smith is currently writing her second season of her original column “Why I Love NASCAR” by Chief 187™ on Skirts and Scuffs. Additionally, another of her NASCAR columns can be found at MotorsportsUnplugged.com. She also contributes articles and NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Recaps weekly at WowShaneRadio.com. She began her Internet writing career at Rowdy.com where she honed her blogging skills and reawakened her love of NASCAR. Candice Smith can be heard on air four times a week co-hosting motorsports programs on Internet radio as well as her own racing show “Drafting the Circuits” on WhooBazoo.com. She can be reached via Twitter by following @Chief187s. To find out more please visit http://Chief187.com.
Very good report, both concise and complete.
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