Jimmie Johnson blames Matt Kenseth for Kentucky loss

SPARTA, KY - JUNE 30: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Dover White Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on June 30, 2013 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
SPARTA, KY - JUNE 30:  Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Dover White Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on June 30, 2013 in Sparta, Kentucky.  (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
SPARTA, KY – JUNE 30: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on June 30, 2013 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

It was Jimmie Johnson’s race to lose, and in the end that’s exactly what happened. In a race delayed 16 hours for rain, Johnson dominated the NASCAR Sprint Cup series Quaker State 400 Sunday leading a race high 182 of the 267 laps only to see it all come apart with less than 20 laps to go.

In the end, Johnson blamed eventual winner Matt Kenseth claiming Kenseth for an error on the final restart, an error that cost Johnson the win.  Brian Vickers was running tenth when he lost a right front tire and slammed hard into the outside wall at turn three bringing out the ninth and final caution of the day and setting up the final round of pit stops with 24 laps to go.

Kenseth took the lead on the final stop as his team elected to take fuel only while those behind him, including Johnson, took two tires despite the fact that his remaining tires had been on longer than the rest of the top ten; Johnson restarted second. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.