Jimmie Johnson was able to get the drop on Kevin Harvick and cruise to victory in an overtime finish Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. Johnson, sporting a Superman paint scheme, grabbed the win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Auto Club 400 to score his 77th career victory and his sixth at the 2-mile track in Fontana, California.
It was another heartbreaking finish for Harvick who led a race high 142 of the 200 laps only to lose to Johnson on the final two laps. It marked the 14th time that Johnson and Harvick finished first and second with Johnson winning 12 of those races. Johnson also becomes the first driver in 2016 to win two races after he won the second race of the season at Atlanta and it moves him to sole possession of seventh on NASCAR’s all time win list breaking a tie with Dale Earnhardt Sr.
The final overtime finish was set up by Kyle Busch who lost a left front tire while running third and hit the wall between turn 3 and 4 with two laps to go. The races sixth and final caution came out and set up the overtime finish. On the final restart Johnson restarted third behind Denny Hamlin and Harvick but was able to push Harvick to the lead. Johnson was able to then grab the lead from Harvick as the white flag was displayed and he cruised to victory .772 ahead of Harvick. Hamlin who overcame a pit road speeding penalty and radio issues was third, Joey Logano was fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth.
“An amazing pit stop on pit road got me right there in contention,” Johnson said in victory lane.
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.
- NASCAR to debut new short track package at Phoenix - February 28, 2023
- The Wrench Who Stole Racing - December 16, 2022
- Matt DiBenedetto’s excellent run comes to abrupt, violent end - February 17, 2019
