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The Dover 400 was Jimmie Johnson's to lose, and he did. A rare error on a final restart caused the five-time Cup champion to jump the restart with Juan Pablo Montoya which eventually resulted in Tony Stewart's first win of the year.
Johnson was black-flagged, fell to the rear, and Stewart swooped in for his first win of 2013 passing Montoya with three laps to go.
"If somebody would have told me it was going to be that way yesterday I would have told them they were crazy," the three-time Cup champion said. "This thing was not a car that could win the race. Just great pit strategy at the end. Steve Addington (his crew chief) made a great call there that last caution and gave us the opportunity to race for it up there."
Montoya had exited the pit first, on the last round of pit stops, so as race leader he was supposed to lead on the final restart. Only he didn't get off the line quickly enough.
The Colombian, who ended up second, said “Jimmie was laying off about just nearly a car length from me, and I knew he was trying to jump the start. And I backed off a little bit for us to line up, and he didn't want to do it.
When we got to the (restart) line, I think he wanted to time it and he timed it too well, and he just ‑‑ you know, he wanted to get the jump on me and he just jump it too much. I would have tried to have done the same. It's one of those deals that when you time it too good, it actually hurts you.”
Johnson was either snookered by Montoya or just messed up, or both. He jumped ahead of Montoya who had been slow to take off and wasn't able to allow his rival to get back to the lead. That resulted in a black flag penalty.
“I was half-throttle for the whole front-stretch, said Johnson. “ And at some point, I gotta go. And in this situation, NASCAR has the judgment to decide if you jumped it or not. But I'm like, he's (Montoya) is not even going. So I'm not sure if his car broke or if off power or spun the tires. I don't know. So I'm running half-throttle down the frontstretch waiting for him and he never comes. So at that point, we got back going. Chad (Knaus, his crew chief) even told me on the radio that something that had happened and that I should just take off and not worry about it. And then we were called on it. So, a bummer way to lose a race. We certainly had the winning car.
Johnson led on lap 355. As the laps started ticking away, that's when fuel started to become a concern. But when polesitter, Denny Hamlin, hit the wall, everyone was able to take care of those concerns and set up for the big finish.
It was déjà vu for two Toyota drivers who blew engines due to valve spring problems. Matt Kenseth was leading when his engine let go on lap 156. Then on lap 276 Martin Truex, Jr. lost his engine.
Jeff Gordon finished third, while Kyle Busch finished fourth and Brad Keselowski fifth. Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.
Johnson, who ended up 17th,, continues to the lead the points 30 ahead of Carl Edwards. Bowyer is third, followed by Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick.
Johnson was black-flagged, fell to the rear, and Stewart swooped in for his first win of 2013 passing Montoya with three laps to go.
"If somebody would have told me it was going to be that way yesterday I would have told them they were crazy," the three-time Cup champion said. "This thing was not a car that could win the race. Just great pit strategy at the end. Steve Addington (his crew chief) made a great call there that last caution and gave us the opportunity to race for it up there."
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| Jimmie Johnson leading a restart. (Photo: NASCAR) |
Montoya had exited the pit first, on the last round of pit stops, so as race leader he was supposed to lead on the final restart. Only he didn't get off the line quickly enough.
The Colombian, who ended up second, said “Jimmie was laying off about just nearly a car length from me, and I knew he was trying to jump the start. And I backed off a little bit for us to line up, and he didn't want to do it.
When we got to the (restart) line, I think he wanted to time it and he timed it too well, and he just ‑‑ you know, he wanted to get the jump on me and he just jump it too much. I would have tried to have done the same. It's one of those deals that when you time it too good, it actually hurts you.”
Johnson was either snookered by Montoya or just messed up, or both. He jumped ahead of Montoya who had been slow to take off and wasn't able to allow his rival to get back to the lead. That resulted in a black flag penalty.
“I was half-throttle for the whole front-stretch, said Johnson. “ And at some point, I gotta go. And in this situation, NASCAR has the judgment to decide if you jumped it or not. But I'm like, he's (Montoya) is not even going. So I'm not sure if his car broke or if off power or spun the tires. I don't know. So I'm running half-throttle down the frontstretch waiting for him and he never comes. So at that point, we got back going. Chad (Knaus, his crew chief) even told me on the radio that something that had happened and that I should just take off and not worry about it. And then we were called on it. So, a bummer way to lose a race. We certainly had the winning car.
Johnson led on lap 355. As the laps started ticking away, that's when fuel started to become a concern. But when polesitter, Denny Hamlin, hit the wall, everyone was able to take care of those concerns and set up for the big finish.
It was déjà vu for two Toyota drivers who blew engines due to valve spring problems. Matt Kenseth was leading when his engine let go on lap 156. Then on lap 276 Martin Truex, Jr. lost his engine.
Jeff Gordon finished third, while Kyle Busch finished fourth and Brad Keselowski fifth. Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.
Johnson, who ended up 17th,, continues to the lead the points 30 ahead of Carl Edwards. Bowyer is third, followed by Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick.