Johnson, the six-time NASCAR champion, nabbed his second win of the 2015 season and first in the spring race at Texas Motor Speedway, but not before coming under challenge from reigning Sprint Cup Series title holder Kevin Harvick. Johnson talked about his crew chief’s decision to change all four tires on the final pit stop of the race, while most of his competitors were taking on only two.
“The end of the race was nutty. Those last three pit stops with the varied tire strategies that were going on, everybody was just driving so hard,” John said after the race. “Just a lot of great racing.”
Johnson said the latter stages of the race where especially tense, but he had had struggled with his pit stops most of the night, especially in the early stages of the race.
“Our car didn’t handle like it was when we were up front. So, the first restart, we were pretty concerned and made some changes. The second one, we got a little better. The third one, our car was really, really good and able to work our way forward.”
In the end, Johnson beat Harvick to the finish line by 1.107 seconds.
Harvick maintained his focus on winning his first race ever at the Texas track and let it all hang out as he chased the front runner. On Lap 314, Harvick charged into Joey Logano‘s car to get him ‘out of the way” while battling for third place. Harvick and Logano were not only fighting for race standing, but also maximizing their points in the Sprint Cup standings, where Harvick had a 24-point lead at the start of the evening. Harvick made no excuses for his move on the track.
“It’s fine,” he said. “Like the No. 22 (Logano’s car), you knock them out of the way… that’s the chance you take when you block.”
Logano had no problem with Harvick’s actions during the race. He admitted he was trying to prevent his challenger from passing and classified Harvick’s tap as “hard racing.”
“It’s the end of the race. I blocked him and he got into me,” said Logano. “Early in the race that’s not acceptable. End of the race, we’re racing for the win. I’d do the same thing.”
Harvick continues to enjoy an amazing streak of high-place finishes. He has finished in the Top 2 nine times in the last 10 races, going back to the final three races of the 2014 season. Harvick’s run of consecutive runner-up positions came to an end two weeks ago in Martinsville, where he finished in eighth place.
“I’m not disappointed at all. Racing for wins is what we’re here to do,” he said. “That’s just what we come to do is to try to be competitive every week. We hadn’t out it together at this particular track. The last three times that we’ve raced here and finished second twice. Maybe we’ll just save the first-place finish for the Chase race.”
The Sprint Cup Series returns to Texas Motor Speedway in November, for the eighth of 10 races making up the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. placed third in the Duck Commander 500. He said his car behaved the way he had expected and was happy with his final standing.
“I had the car I anticipated I would have. By the end of the race, we had our car as good as we had it all night,” Earnhardt said. “I like racing here. I think it was a good show.”
Johnson agreed with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
“I hope everybody enjoyed it. I know from where I was sitting and the competitors, tonight was a very good night for our sport. A lot of great racing,” Johnson said. “The surface of this race track really allows that all to happen and we’re happy that we’re able to come out there and put on a great show. Just a fun race.”
Harvick continues to lead the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Logano lost two points and now trails the leader by 26 points. Martin Truex Jr. is third, 40 points off the pace.
The Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer is the next race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The race takes place at Bristol Motor Speedway, in Tennessee, on April 19, 2015.
