Jimmie Johnson Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Mid-week racing is back on the docket tonight as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville for a short track showdown under the lights in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. A mainstay on the schedule since 1949, the historic half-mile, which is also the smallest on the circuit, will test both man and machine over 500 grueling laps. This go around will be an even bigger test than normal. No practice, no qualifying, just line up and turn ‘em loose. Since being announced last year,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Kevin Harvick has had an exceptional relationship with Atlanta Motor Speedway and the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion showed that again Sunday afternoon winning the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, his third victory at the historic track. Harvick led a race high 151 of 325 laps en route to his 51st career win, prevailing in a valiant contest with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., who finished second and third. Truex led 62 laps, won the opening two stages of theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Back in mid-March, NASCAR found itself heading into Atlanta for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 when the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold across the sports world and the race weekend was postponed. Fast forward to this weekend and the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the epicenter of where it all began for another shot at the 1.5-mile quad-oval. With a track surface that is old and worn, having not been repaved since its reconfiguration in 1997, Atlanta always gets rave reviews from drivers whoRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service Providing exactly the kind of wild finish that has made Bristol Motor Speedway one of the most popular venues on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Brad Keselowski was in perfect position to take advantage of hard racing in the closing laps and earned the victory in Sunday’s Food City presents the SUPERMARKET HEROES 500. With two laps remaining race leaders Joey Logano and Chase Elliott collided in front of the field and Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford rallied on to take the leadRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASCAR’s comeback tour rolls on this weekend as the Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Supermarket Heroes 500. The track, which carries the “Last Great Colosseum” moniker, always brings out the excitement from fans and competitors alike as packing 40 cars into the half-mile high banked bullring can only be explained by the phrase “flying fighter jets in a gymnasium”, which is more accurate than it would seem. Drivers race two and sometimes three-wide throughout the event and when troubleRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Hours after bringing home his best finish of the season with a runner-up result in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson received the news that his No. 48 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection, resulting in a disqualification. The disqualification drops Johnson to last in the running order for Sunday’s race and means he will also have to start the next Cup Series race, which takes place on Wednesday at Charlotte, from the tail end of the field. NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay FabianRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service A late caution set Brad Keselowski up for victory in NASCAR’s longest race—and set Chase Elliott up for a second straight crushing disappointment. In Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600, which went to overtime for the second time in its history, Keselowski surged ahead after a restart on Lap 404 and beat Jimmie Johnson to the finish line by .293 seconds to win a race that stretched to 607.5 miles, longest in NASCAR history. Elliott led Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford by 1.6 seconds beforeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a successful week to reopen the 2020 season at Darlington, the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to home base at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 61st running of the Coca-Cola 600. Sunday should have been a day full of racing with the Formula 1 race at Monaco and the Indianapolis 500 preceding Sunday night’s race, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, only NASCAR will be in the spotlight, with both qualifying (2:00 pm ET) and the race (6:00 pm ET) taking place in oneRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor A staple of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since 1950, Darlington Raceway has served as a lifeline to help the sport get back on its feet in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Just three days after the 2020 season restarted with the running of the Real Heroes 400 at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, the stars of NASCAR’s top division head back to South Carolina for another dance with the Lady in Black in Wednesday night’s Toyota 500. With no practice or qualifying heading intoRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service NASCAR’s return to real-time action Sunday afternoon was a resumption of the close-quarter, high-action brand of racing that fans have long expected at historic Darlington Raceway, culminating with Kevin Harvick claiming his first trophy of the season in front of a robust television and radio audience eager to welcome sports back. The Real Heroes 400 was the first on-track activity in nearly two months after NASCAR suspended competition because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to track included specific guidelines unique to this unprecedentedRead More