Johnson looking to keep winning streak going

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED

Kyle Larson led the most laps Sunday but it was Jimmie Johnson taking the checkered flag for the second straight week and he’s now looking for a third this weekend at Richmond.

1. Lead-lap blues

It seems like the driver who leads a bounty of laps is something of a sitting duck at race’s end. Case in point: Kyle Larson led a race-high 202 laps in his No. 42 Chevy and finished a distant sixth. Jimmie Johnson did lead three times for 81 laps, including the final lap on Monday.

2. Junior’s wait

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s woes continued at Bristol when oil from his engine caused him to spin and hit the wall on Lap 218. He has only one top-10 finish. “We weren’t running that great, but we were working on our car,” he said. “Another bad finish. We’ve had a lot of them this year.”

3. Last place

We seldom hear from the last-place driver, so let’s show some love to Chris Buescher, who wrecked out on Lap 56. Asked what happened, Buescher said he didn’t have a clue. “I am honestly not really sure what happened,” he said. “I ended up tearing the radiator out of the car.”

[NASCAR GETTY IMAGES/BRIAN Kyle Larson, wheeling the No. 42 Chevrolet, led nearly half the laps at Bristol, but finished sixth on Monday. That seems to be a running theme this season. LAWDERMILK]