Johnson goes back-to-back in dominant Dover win
June 1, 2014
By Seth Livingstone
NASCAR Wire Service
DOVER,
Del. – It came as little surprise that Jimmie Johnson was able to
dominate the field Sunday at Dover International Speedway, a track where
he has won nine NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series races, more than any driver in NASCAR history.
What
was stunning was Johnson’s public revelation that he’d had hernia
surgery in December, a procedure which might have contributed to his
slow start.
“It
wasn’t supposed to be a secret,” said Johnson, whose surgery came to
light during a recorded interview with FOX that aired during the race.
“The hernia surgery was, literally,
right after the banquet. I’m surprised nobody knew about this thing
sooner.”
Johnson
said he had bilateral hernias (one on each side) as well as a third in
the “belly button area," repaired laparoscopically and was back in
training 10 days after the
procedure. He conceded that the surgery, in concert with bad weather,
led to his team missing three test sessions and might have contributed
to his team’s 11-race winless string to start the season.
“I do
feel like that hurt us some and had us behind a little,” said NASCAR’s
six-time champion, whose team suddenly looks invincible with Cup
victories in consecutive weeks.
“Now we can get on a roll. We’ve got some good tracks ahead for us.”
Johnson,
who says Dover’s high-banked mile track “suits his style,” led 272 of
the final 319 miles on his way to victory in Sunday’s FedEx 400
presented by Autism Speaks.
“They’re
just unbelievable here,” said Matt Kenseth, who finished third. “If
you’re going to have a shot to win here, that’s the car you’re going to
have to beat every time
unless they break.”
Crew chief Chad Knaus is quite pleased with the way things are rounding into shape for the 48 team.
“Going
into the (Coca-Cola) 600 last weekend, I told Jimmie we were taking his
favorite race car to the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway – and I told
him that his new favorite
car was going to be going to Dover the following week,” Knaus said.
“We
feel like we’ve been just a pinch behind this year. (That’s when)
everybody in our shop digs down really deep – from the pit crew to the
guys that hang the bodies to the
guys that build the chassis to the guys that build the engines. They
try to find an advantage. When we do finally start to hit our stride ...
we can really start to make things happen. I think we’re seeing a lot
of fruit of a lot of people’s labor right now.”
As dominant as Johnson was, the race boiled down to a restart with four laps left.
“Cautions
at the end – it’s an opportunity for the guy that’s dominated all day
to make a mistake,” Johnson said. “So, I wanted to make sure I chose the
right lane and got
a good restart.”
Johnson
was able to pull away from Keselowski and Kenseth, who was so slow on
the restart that Clint Bowyer attempted to push him from behind.
“I did an awful job on the last restart,” Kenseth said. “I just got spinning the tires too much and the best car won.”
Bowyer
had taken two tires on a yellow flag pit stop with 40 laps remaining and
gained the lead, only to see Johnson roar past him.
“I was
just trying to help (Kenseth),” said Bowyer, who, like Kenseth, is still
seeking his first victory of the season. “We were all spinning like
crazy and I had a pretty
good run at him. I knocked him into the wall and I was like: “Not
another (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) car.”
It was
Bowyer’s contact with JGR’s Kyle Busch that sent Busch into the wall on
Lap 125. That ended Busch’s quest to complete a three-race sweep at
Dover. Busch, the only driver
ever to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide
series races at Dover on the same weekend, was strong early, leading
the race’s first 81 laps.
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