LAS VEGAS — Jimmie Johnson’s comeback from a deep hole in the Cup points standings took another hit on Saturday during the opening minute of the second practice session.
Before Johnson completed his first lap, the No. 48 Chevrolet slid sideways into the Turn 2 wall, forcing the champion to a backup car and a trip to the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s race.
“I had to chase it up the track,” Johnson said of his efforts to save the car after it began to slide. “Once I got into the gray — the dirty stuff — it was over from there . . . I was just trying to get all that I could and trying to see what the limits of the car were, and unfortunately I found them in practice — I guess better in practice than in the race.
“But I know we’ve got a real fast setup to put on this (backup) racecar.”
After a 42nd-place finish in the Daytona 500 and 25-point penalty for infractions discovered before that race, Johnson is 38th in the Cup standings, despite a fourth-place run last Sunday at Phoenix.
Hendrick Motorsports will present its case in an appeal of the No. 48 penalties on Tuesday. NASCAR inspectors discovered unapproved modifications to the “C” posts of Johnson’s car during opening-day inspection at Daytona.
The sanctioning body slapped crew chief Chad Knaus with a $100,000 fine and a six-race suspension. Car chief Ron Malec also drew a six-race suspension.
Johnson and car owner Jeff Gordon were docked 25 points each.
SHORT STROKES
Shortly after Johnson’s accident, Marcos Ambrose spun off Turn 4 and slid through the infield grass. Ambrose was able to the save the car and returned to the track shortly thereafter . . . Defending race winner Carl Edwards said his No. 99 Ford felt great during the second practice session. The bad news was that the car lacked speed. Edwards was 29th fastest in Happy Hour.
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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