WINNERS & LOSERS: Jimmie Johnson stout, but others also worthy of praise at Bristol
Jamie McMurray found himself in the "winners" category after an eighth-place finish in the Food City 500 at Bristol. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Illustrated
BRISTOL, Tenn. – That Jimmie Johnson had another outstanding day isn’t surprising, but the efforts of several others on one of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ most difficult tracks was certainly noteworthy. Winning isn’t everything at Bristol Motor Speedway – survival is.
WINNERS
Jimmie Johnson – The four-time Cup champion earned his first career victory at Bristol and the 50th of his career. And it just happened to be the Hendrick driver’s third win of the season. Anyone hoping this was going to be a “down” year for the team is going to be sadly disappointed.
Roush Fenway Racing – Greg Biffle finished fourth; Matt Kenseth was fifth and Carl Edwards sixth for the organization in one of its best overall efforts of the season. Biffle led five times for 78 laps to boot.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – After working his way all the way up to fifth, Earnhardt Jr. was flagged for speeding on pit road on lap 326. As a result, he restarted the race 26th, but settled down and drove his way back to a solid seventh-place finish. The result gained him five spots in the point standings, where he’s now eighth.
Jamie McMurray – After winning the Daytona 500, the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver finished 17th, 34th and 29th in the next three races. His eighth-place run at Bristol seemed to signal that the team has gotten its game back.
Kyle Busch – Horrible in practice, just as bad in qualifying, and contact with the wall during the race seemed to just about sum up the weekend for Busch, who won both Cup races here last year. But somehow, the team rallied and Busch worked his way back into the top 10 late in the race to score a hard-earned ninth-place finish.
LOSERS
Kurt Busch – Hard to paint this guy, or this team, as a loser after finishing third. But Busch was dominant, as usual, at Bristol, leading 10 times for 278 laps. The only thing that could ruin such an effort? Failing to win the race. And that was the case. Busch fell from first to fifth during a final pit stop, and was unable to regain the lost ground in the race’s final laps. “I’m sorry guys. I’m terribly sorry. Couldn’t get these guys on fresh tires,” Busch said. “That’s my … weakness.”
Clint Bowyer – Started the season with three straight top-10 runs, but Bowyer’s finished 23rd and 40th in his last two outings. This week, it was an engine issue that sidelined the Richard Childress driver after just 56 laps. “The car was fast, we were marching inside the top 10 pretty quick,” Bowyer said. “I was getting pretty excited. Unfortunately, it blew up.”
Mark Martin – Had a car that could have won the race, but contact with the wall broke the No. 5 Chevy, and set off a 13-car crash. The 35th-place finish proved costly in the points – Martin tumbled from seventh to 16th.
Juan Pablo Montoya – Surprisingly strong early (he led four times for 29 laps), Montoya found himself caught up in Martin’s mishap and finished 26th.
Scott Speed – The Red Bull Racing driver was 12th in points before the Bristol race began. He was 18th when it was over, thanks to a 31st-place finish. It was the worst finish of the year for the colorful driver.
Bristol Motor Speedway – After 55 consecutive sellouts, the streak finally ended. Estimates ranged from 10,000 to 25,000 no-shows. Even at that, 120,000 to 130,000 or more is twice as large of a crowd as those showing up at several other tracks that host Cup races. And there’s no shame in that.
