Hendrick’s bid for 200 persists

FORT WORTH — After being foiled late in a race again in its quest for a 200th Sprint Cup victory, Hendrick Motorsports can take solace that its next chance comes at Kansas Speedway, site of win No. 199.

The bad news: That came Oct. 9 with Jimmie Johnson, and the powerhouse team has gone winless in the 13 points races since.

“It would be great to get it soon. ... I thought Jimmie had it tonight,” said Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne, whose seventh-place finish in Saturday night’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway was his best of the season. “Every time I looked up, there was the No. 48 leading.”

Johnson’s Chevrolet was strong enough to lead 156 of the 334 laps, and he finished second behind Greg Biffle. Two weeks earlier, Jeff Gordon led 329 and Johnson 111 at Martinsville Speedway, but both finished outside the top 10 after crashing while running 1-2 on a late restart.

“Yeah, man, second sucks,” said Johnson, who ran afoul of lapped traffic in the Samsung Mobile 500 as Biffle mounted a late-race charge. “They’re both frustrating. The racer in me wants to win.

“It’s nice to be running well. It’s nice to be in this (competitive) position. But I want to get back to our winning ways really soon.”