Jimmie Johnson takes record eighth checkered flag at Dover
DOVER, DEL.— Jimmie Johnson held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a record eighth win at Dover International Speedway.
Johnson had shared the mark of seven wins on the concrete mile with Bobby Allison and Richard Petty. Led by Johnson, the entire top 10 Sunday was made up of Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers.
“To do anything that Richard or Bobby has done is quite an accomplishment,” Johnson said.
Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. Kev- in Harvick, Matt Kenseth, who won the first two Chase races, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10. Earnhardt had one of the fastest cars, but he missed pit road and gave up the lead early in the race. He had a strong enough No. 88 Chevrolet to get back into the race and contend for his first win of the season but couldn’t pass Johnson. “We left everybody in the mirror. We were clicking off some laps,” Earnhardt said. “But just not fast enough to get to Jimmie.” Kenseth kept his points lead even as he fell short in trying to become the first driver to win the first three Chase races. He holds an eight-point lead over Johnson as the Chase shifts to Kansas. “I know that 20 is going to be awfully strong for the rest of the stretch,” he said.
Johnson led 243 of the 400 laps to help extend his Chase record with his 23rd career win in 93 starts in NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. He swept Dover in 2002 and 2009 and won races in 2005, 2010 and 2012.
Johnson has his sights set on a bigger piece of NASCAR history. He’s in the hunt for his sixth Cup championship, which would put him one behind Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for most in series history.