FONTANA, Calif. — Forget the 25 points Jimmie Johnson regained on appeal of the No. 48 team’s Daytona penalty early this season.
Johnson was equally fortunate Sunday — despite pitting under the caution for rain — when the stoppage of the race left him 10th in the running order, instead of in the garage repairing a broken oil line.
As the cars circled the track in the rain, Johnson’s car began smoking. The driver of the No. 48 Chevy didn’t know whether the cause was a broken oil line fitting or an oil cooler problem, but he was happy his team didn’t have to make the diagnosis during the course of the race.
“It was just a wild chain of events, because when I came to pit road and took four tires, I wanted it to dry up real quick,” Johnson said before NASCAR called the race. “Now I’m sitting here praying for rain. So, as I’m sending the signals to the man upstairs, he’s really confused about what I’m asking for the last three or four minutes.”
Johnson got his wish, and the unrelenting rain kept him 10th at the finish — his fourth straight top-10 — and allowed him to gain two positions to ninth in the Cup standings.
Solid run for Biffle
Greg Biffle, on the other hand, was hoping the race would restart — and never changed his mind.
The driver of the No. 16 Ford felt post-rainstorm track conditions would have favored his car.
“I like this track, but the last few times we’ve been off just a tick,” said Biffle, who settled for a sixth-place run when NASCAR called the race. “Today, I didn’t keep up with the track. I thought we were getting closer at the end, because we were closing in on the 29 (Kevin Harvick), and then he got his car going.
“If they would have gotten the track cleaned off and going again, I think we would have had a chance, because we’re good on a cold, green track. When it gets hot and slick, we’re not as good as they are.”
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.
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