No. 3: Dover Speedway
Dover proved big for Johnson
This is the third of a five-part series featuring the five best Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races staged in 2017. This is race No. 3 on the list of NASCAR’s best events.
It was a momentous day for seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, because by winning at Dover International Speedway on June 4, he tied Cale Yarborough on the all-time win list at 83.
As Johnson’s racing career zips along, he has been putting a beat down on NASCAR Hall of Famer Yarborough.
In 2009, Johnson set a record no one ever expected would be reached — at Yarborough’s expense. Johnson won his fourth straight Cup Series title, breaking a tie with Yarborough at three. Johnson continued forward and won five consecutive crowns.
Crazy as it sounds, Johnson was a Yarborough fan growing up and had a special helmet commissioned with Yarborough’s likeness on it from back when Yarborough drove Harry Ranier’s No. 28 Hardee’s entry in the mid-1980s.
“I never thought I’d end up here in NASCAR as a kid racing in the dirt in Southern California,” Johnson said after that Dover victory. “I remember going to a race in Oklahoma with my parents and my brother. We were driving across the country and we pulled up to a Hardee’s.
“I had no idea it was a burger stand, and I really thought when I walked in the door, I was going to see Cale Yarborough’s race shop. It was very disappointing. I had a burger and left.”
This time he had a win and left tied with Yarborough in one of NAS CAR’s most important categories.
“To be here and tie him at 83 wins is amazing,” Johnson said. “We just got the tribute helmet. I wasn’t sure how quickly we’d be, or if we’d be able to go there and get it done. But Cale, you’re the man. Thank you for all you have done for our sport.”
This was not a walk-in-the-park victory for Johnson, who started shotgun after crew chief Chad Knaus made a rear gear change before the race started.
The race was brutal, as is the custom at the 1-mile, high-banked, concrete oval. There were 15 caution periods for 72 laps, which made it necessary for two rounds of overtime racing.
Among those who exited to the garage with mangled machines were Daytona
500 winner Kurt Busch, plus Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who had each scored Cup wins before reaching Dover, the 13th race of the season.
Johnson got by Kyle Larson on the final green-white-checkered restart and was out front at the overtime line as a multicar crash broke out behind them. Johnson took the win with the yellow flag waving. It marked his 11th career win at “The Monster Mile.” Johnson led the race twice for 19 laps. It was a great and horrible day for Larson. He led a race-high 241 laps, but lost in the second overtime period to Johnson, who would not win another race all season.
“I didn’t need that last caution,” Larson said after posting his fifth runner-up finish of the season. “Jimmie is the best of our time, probably the best of all time.
“He has a lot more experience than I do on the front row late in races and executed a lot better than I did. I’ve got to get better at that and maybe get some more wins.”