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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Cheater or champion? Such is the stigma Jimmie Johnson still had to bear after winning his first Daytona 500 less than a week after his crew chief was kicked out for illegally altering his car.
Johnson won a two-lap shootout Sunday to claim the victory, capping a roller-coaster week that saw NASCAR send Chad Knaus home after he cheated during qualifying.
Just moments after Johnson crossed the finish line, his rivals were wondering if the win was legitimate.
"This could still be the first opportunity for NASCAR to pull away a victory if the thing is illegal," third-place finisher Ryan Newman said. "It's disappointing. I think a lot of Jimmie Johnson and his talent, but I'm pretty sure at least three of his last four wins have had conflictions with the cars being illegal.
"You know, it's not necessarily good for the sport."
After a three-plus hour inspection, NASCAR finally cleared Johnson's car.
It doesn't change the perception of his team, but Johnson thinks it's overblown.
"This is a huge statement and something that I'm very proud of," he said with a bottle of champagne sitting on his lap. "We know that there are rules, a set of rules. Chad broke the rules. He's admitted that. He's in Charlotte watching the race. He missed the event. We're serving our penalty."
There's probably more to come. Johnson has indicated that the team expects NASCAR to suspend Knaus an additional three races. The team will probably also be docked points, knocking Johnson off the leaderboard.
The team has a history of misdeeds and questionable conduct.
NASCAR accused Knaus of cheating following Johnson's win in Las Vegas last March when his car failed post-race inspection. Knaus was suspended for two races, but appealed and had the penalty reduced to probation.
Then, following a September win in Dover, Del., the No. 48 Chevrolet again failed inspection. Only this time NASCAR said Knaus had exploited a loophole in the rule book, and the sanctioning body quickly closed it.
So with Knaus out of commission for the foreseeable future and lead engineer Darian Grubb acting as temporary head coach, the Hendrick Motorsports team will try to work its way out from the dark shadow the crew chief's actions have cast on them.
Johnson took the first step by scoring the biggest win of his career, then deflecting Newman's criticism.
"There's been a lot of hating on the 48 team over the last year," Johnson said. "I kind of look at as jealousy and (Newman) doesn't have a crew chief in there working hard enough to get the job done."
Johnson's latest troubles started shortly after he posted the fifth-fastest time in trials and his car went through post-race inspection. NASCAR said it discovered a blatant attempt at cheating when it found an alteration that had been made after the car passed an initial inspection.
Knaus was kicked off the property, his motor home removed from the lot. And although Johnson claimed Knaus was back in North Carolina, competitors wondered if the crew chief wasn't hiding somewhere inside Daytona International Speedway and communicating with the team via cell phone.
It probably didn't matter because Johnson was intent on winning The Great American Race on his fifth try.
"I knew deep down inside my heart that this team could still win," he said. "There's no doubt that not having Chad here was a huge handicap, but everybody stepped up. I am just so proud of this team."
Johnson stayed calm and avoided trouble in a wild race that saw Tony Stewart eliminate three contenders: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and himself. Then Johnson worked his way to the front, staying in line and waiting for his chance to pounce.
It came with 14 laps to go when he squeezed past teammate Brian Vickers to grab the lead just as a caution came out. Johnson was at the front of the field on the restart, the lead driver in a single-file pack of cars sprinting toward the end.
From his rearview window he could see Dale Earnhardt Jr. slicing his way through the field, making a last, desperate push to mark the five-year anniversary of his Dad's death with a win at the track where he died.
But Jamie McMurray wrecked with seven laps to go to bring out one final caution. It set up an overtime finish, but no one was able to challenge Johnson.
Earnhardt was the first driver to pull out of line and make a run at Johnson, but got no drafting help and had zero chance of catching him. Then Newman took his shot. But just like Junior, he didn't get any assistance and could only squeeze back into place.
There were no more challenges to Johnson, who won when a final accident brought out the caution and allowed him to cross the finish line under a yellow flag.
Casey Mears, part of the three-man team that won the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race earlier this month, was second and Newman, who was trying to give Roger Penske his first Daytona win in 33 tries, finished third.
Stewart was fifth, rookie Clint Bowyer was sixth and Vickers was seventh. Earnhardt wound up eighth after leading a race-high 32 laps. Ken Schrader and Dale Jarrett rounded out the top 10.
Johnson stayed under the radar - and away from Stewart - to pull out the victory.
Earlier this week, Stewart forced NASCAR to crack down on bump drafting and aggressive driving when he warned that someone could be killed in the 500.
Then he became the first Cup driver to be penalized under the new watchdog policy.
He began his day by hitting Gordon - a heavy favorite to win a second straight 500 - early in the race to eliminate him from contention. Then Stewart took out a second potential winner when he made a hard left turn into Kenseth.
It wasn't clear if Stewart's contact was intentional, but it severely damaged Kenseth's car and NASCAR quickly penalized Stewart by ordering him to the back of the field. The punishment dropped him from fifth to 34th.
Clearly angry, he pushed his in-car camera away so television viewers couldn't see him raging.
Just seconds later, Kenseth exacted his revenge as the two cars raced each other off pit road. Kenseth passed Stewart, ran him low to the apron and appeared to hit him. NASCAR then called Kenseth into pit road for his own penalty, but the driver was irate and slow to comply.
"You've got to come in, Matt, they are going to pull our scorecard!" crew chief Robbie Reiser radioed.
"Not until they tell me what I did. I put my hand up, asked him, 'Why did you do that?' That's all I did," Kenseth replied. "What did I do?"
"You were screwing around with (Stewart), you have to come in," Reiser said.
It didn't really matter at that point. Kenseth, who had led four times for 28 laps and had a car capable of racing for the victory, was two laps down and had too much damage to his Ford to rally for the win.
"It's just really disappointing - Tony went out and said all that stuff early in the week," Kenseth said after the race. "If he's worried about people's lives and he's going to wreck somebody at 190 mph, that's tough."
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - NASCAR suspended crew chief Chad Knaus for three more races Tuesday and fined him $25,000 for making an illegal modification to Jimmie Johnson's car during preparation for the Daytona 500.
Knaus was ejected from Daytona following the cheating scandal, and Johnson went on to win the race in a legal car.
Now Johnson must compete in the next three events without his crew chief. Knaus won't be eligible to return to a race track until the March 26 race in Bristol, Tenn.
NASCAR, without comment, also placed Knaus on probation for the rest of the year. It means the crew chief won't be able to push the limits the way he has done for much of the past four seasons.
Knaus seemed unrepentant.
"I think if we ran 25th every week we wouldn't be getting this attention," he said in a conference call.
Knaus also deflected several questions that gave him the opportunity to take responsibility for an alteration NASCAR has characterized as "blatant cheating."
"There's a lot of things out there that can be called intentional," Knaus said. "The fact of the matter is when NASCAR went back it didn't fit the templates. How that happens is pretty irrelevant."
Knaus has been fined numerous times for various infractions, and was suspended two races last season when Johnson's car failed inspection following a victory in Las Vegas. Knaus appealed and the suspension was reduced to probation.
"There's no doubt that Chad has been aggressive and walks a fine line," Johnson said. "He stepped over the line and he's living with the consequences right now."
Knaus' latest infraction came during time trials for the Daytona 500. The Chevrolet passed its initial inspection. But sometime before Johnson went out and posted the fifth-fastest time, the rear window of the car was altered to change its aerodynamics.
The car failed post-race inspection and Knaus was kicked out of Daytona the next day. Johnson's time was thrown out and the team had to rebuild the car to make it fit NASCAR's templates.
The car passed at least three more inspections before Sunday's main event, which Johnson went on to win in the biggest victory of his career. His Chevy also passed an intensive post-race inspection.
Still, rivals have questioned the legitimacy of the victory and spoiled what should be Johnson's crowning achievement.
Knaus defended Johnson's effort and said the driver was unaware of any problems the car might have had.
"Drivers don't know what' going in these race cars, ever," he said. "Jimmie isn't really into knowing what is going on with the race cars. He shows up and drives and gives his feedback and goes home."
Asked Tuesday if he perhaps would be better off with a new crew chief because Knaus' tendency to push the limit is reflecting on Johnson, the driver said it has yet to get to that point.
"That's something that has been brought up during this experience," he said. "Maybe Chad's been walking too close to the line and if you're walking a tight rope you're going to step off at some point, and this is what's happened.
"We'll just have to take it as it comes. He's brought a lot of success to this team and a lot of innovation to Hendrick Motorsports. We just need to walk on the right side of the line from here on out."
Knaus said he could abide by those rules.
"We're not going to go out there and pull punches," he said. "We are going to take the best product that we can to the race track, week in and week out, within the guidelines of NASCAR."
Johnson indicated that Knaus has been humbled by the experience that forced him to watch the team he built from the ground up win the 500 on television.
"If he was doing well I'd be concerned," Johnson said. "The fact that it's so hard on him, it's obvious where his heart is and how much he cares for this race team. Every time I talk to him, he says, 'Dude I'm so sorry.' Every time he answers the phone that's what he says."
Johnson will compete in the next three events with lead engineer Darian Grubb calling the shots. Grubb also filled in for Knaus at Daytona.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
Johnson said every crew chief is trying to find an advantage, so Newman should have kept his thoughts to himself.
"We have 45 engineers at Hendrick Motorsports that are trying to make our cars better and trying to beat the system," Johnson said. "He has a staff trying to do the same thing. Years ago this was a fun game between the sanctioning body and the crew chiefs. Now with all the eyes watching, it's turned into a different animal and there's such a negative spin off.
"In the garage area, the crews know they're trying to pull one over on the sanctioning body and the sanctioning body smiles about it because they know they're trying to get them back. It's a cat and mouse game that's been in our sport forever and it will always be there."
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
Denny stayed out of the Top 10 again, but still drove very well. I didn't get to watch since it was later in the day. And that is not cool. There's my race commentary for California. Out.JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
FONTANA, Calif. -- Even when he took the lead late in the Nextel Cup race at California Speedway, Matt Kenseth didn't expect to win.
"I was sort of planning on running second," Kenseth said, grinning.
But the 2003 Cup champion got a gift Sunday, winning the Auto Club 500 after the stronger cars of Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart went to the garage with late-race engine failures.
"I feel bad for Greg," Kenseth said. "He was really the class of the field all day. But I feel like we had the second- or third-best car. We had a great-handling car all day."
Stewart's blown engine on Lap 214 of the 250-lap event brought out a caution flag and sent the leaders to pit road for their final stops. A great pit stop by the crew of Kenseth's No. 17 Roush Racing Ford got him out ahead of Biffle, but, until smoke began spouting out of the exhaust on Biffle's No. 16, Kenseth didn't expect to stay ahead.
"We made some adjustments on that last pit stop," said Kenseth, who set a track record by winning from 31st in the 43-car field. "That gave me confidence for the longer run, but Greg was pretty quick on a long run. When he was back there, I totally assumed he was going to run us down on a long run."
Two-time and reigning Cup champion Stewart led only 28 laps but overcame a botched pit stop and a flat tire to come from a lap down and challenge Biffle late in the race on California's 2-mile oval. But Stewart, who had been running at the finish in 30 consecutive races, saw his race come to an end in a puff of smoke.
That appeared to hand an easy victory to Biffle. But it wasn't to be.
Last year's Cup runner-up -- first and second in the two California races last year and the Busch Series winner Saturday -- led 168 of the first 218 laps and built margins up to 13 seconds before he lost a cylinder in his engine on Lap 225.
Once Biffle was gone from his rearview mirror, Kenseth easily held off Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson in a two-lap overtime shootout after the last of seven caution flags came out for a smoking car with only four laps remaining in regulation.
The race restarted on Lap 250. Johnson tried to pass Kenseth on the outside in the first turn, but the leader held him off and pulled away, winning by 0.338 seconds -- about five car-lengths. Kenseth picked up the 11th victory of his career, but only his second in the past 72 races. He led 40 laps, including the final 33, giving Ford its first Cup victory with the new Fusion model.
Three-time California winner Jeff Gordon changed only two tires and beat both Kenseth and Biffle out of the pits on the final stop by the leaders. Kenseth passed Gordon for the lead on the restart on Lap 219, as another caution flew for the spinning car of Stanton Barrett, and Biffle grabbed second place on the next restart and began to chase down his Roush Racing teammate before his engine let go.
Stewart, who wound up 43rd, right behind Biffle, shrugged off his disappointment.
"It was a good day but a bad day," he said. "We overcame some things and I think we're going to have a good car all year. It was really a pretty impressive effort, but I don't think we had anything for Biffle there."
Biffle thought about trying to finish the race, but had to head for the garage after a slow restart on Lap 229.
"The 20 [Stewart] and I were pretty quick, but I think I got my car better," Biffle said. "He was good in the middle part of the race but I got my car really good here at the end.
"It's frustrating. It kind of drains you, but I've got to be optimistic about our season. We might have been better than the 17 [Kenseth], but now we'll never know."
Johnson had another strong showing with lead engineer Darian Grubb substituting for crew chief Chad Knaus, sidelined for the second of four races after being suspending by NASCAR for using an unapproved part on the No. 48 Chevrolet in qualifying at Daytona.
Carl Edwards, another Roush driver and last year's third-place finisher in the points, came back from a last-place showing in Daytona to finish third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Jeff Burton.
Roush Racing made a strong comeback from a terrible day at Daytona, where the top-finisher was Mark Martin in 12th place. Besides the strong showing by Biffle and Edwards, team newcomer Jamie McMurray finished sixth and Martin ninth. Martin won the Truck Series race Friday night.
A year ago, Biffle won here with three teammates in the top seven and all five Roush entries finished in the top 12 here in September.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
FONTANA, Calif. -- A gamble by Carl Edwards on fresh tires late in the Busch Series race at California Speedway fell short, allowing Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle to run off to an easy victory Saturday.
With Nextel Cup drivers, known as "Buschwhackers," again dominating a race in the developmental series -- finishing in the top 11 positions -- Biffle passed former teammate Jeff Burton for the lead with 10 laps to go in the Stater Bros. 300. Biffle then drove away to a 2.256-second -- half a straightaway -- victory against Ryan Newman.
It was the fifth consecutive victory by a Roush-owned car on the 2-mile California track.
Edwards, who led 49 of the 150 laps, appeared to have the fastest car through most of the event. But he chose to give up the lead to pit for four fresh tires after debris brought out the last of four caution flags on lap 134.
Edwards said he didn't think he could hold off Biffle and Burton if he didn't get tires at the end. He radioed his crew chief asking to pit.
"I thought even going to the back we could get them," Edwards said. "We've won a couple like that in the Busch Series, but it's a gamble. You know, everything has to go just right. We probably needed another caution there with about five laps to go."
Biffle, whose Ford Fusion led a race-high 52 laps, said the late caution flag was the key to his 18th career Busch victory and third at the California track.
"We weren't going to catch them without a caution flag," Biffle said. "We had to stay out because we had used up all of our sets of tires. I thought everybody was going to pit and I was shocked when they stayed out because new tires are really fast.
"I made an almost fatal mistake there on the first stop, tightening the car up too much. We just kept making big adjustments," he added. "Our stops were a little slow because we were doing so much work. We really needed that caution."
After Edwards pitted, it left Burton's Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the lead. Biffle and Newman, in a Penske Racing South Dodge, were close behind and Edwards' Ford was 10th when the green flag waved for the start of lap 139.
Newman grabbed second place from Biffle on that lap, but last year's Nextel Cup runner-up retook the second spot the next time around the oval and chased down Burton. Once he got into the lead, Biffle began to steadily pull away.
Meanwhile, Edwards shot through traffic and got all the way to third, passing Burton on Lap 146. But that's as close as he could come to the leaders.
Newman said he had nothing for Biffle at the end.
"We were good on restarts, but just a little bit down on speed," he said. "All in all, it was a pretty good showing for this team."
All the Cup drivers will compete on the same track in Sunday's Auto Club 500.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
FONTANA, Calif. -- The rest of NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series is probably already dreading Mark Martin joining the series full time with his own team in 2007.
The longtime Nextel Cup star, who plans to retire from NASCAR's top stock car series at the end of this season, won his second truck race in eight days, adding Friday night's racetickets.com 200 to a victory last week at Daytona.
Martin, who will run only a limited truck schedule this year, easily fought off a challenge from Todd Bodine in a two-lap overtime finish after a crash by Mike Wallace on lap 99. That brought out the eighth caution flag of the night and extended the race, scheduled to go 100 laps on California Speedway's 2-mile oval.
Defending truck series champion Ted Musgrave, Bodine's teammate, was third.
The Daytona race also went to overtime with Bodine and Musgrave trailing Martin. But another caution flag during the green-white-checker finish that night gave Martin the victory and left Bodine and Musgrave lamenting that they didn't get the opportunity to run him down.
This time, there were no more yellow flags after the race restarted for the final two-lap sprint on lap 105. Their Toyotas were lined up right behind Martin when the overtime began, and that's just the way it stayed.
"It felt like that movie, 'Groundhog Day.' I was thinking to myself, 'Didn't we just do this a couple of days ago?"' Musgrave said.
"But this is a whole different racetrack. You don't draft the same way here as you do at Daytona and there was nothing I could really do but watch the two of them race for the win."
Martin, who will also race in Sunday's Auto Club 500, said, "We had our hands full on that last restarts. But this Ford has got a lot of horsepower. We just stepped on it and got to the line first."
Bodine was penalized for passing on the left during a restart on lap 48 and fell all the way to 34th. But he quickly charged back into contention, passing Martin for the lead on lap 81.
Martin was too strong, though, driving his F-150 past Bodine's Tundra two laps later and staying ahead the rest of the way to grab his third truck win in just five career starts.
"We had to serve that penalty, which I disagreed with," Bodine said. "The guy ahead of me missed a shift and I either had to go by him or run into him. But we can't be too disappointed. That's second two weeks in a row and third for our teammate.
"I figured out how to get by (Martin), then the yellow came out (on lap 99). After that, I knew it was probably over. I didn't give up, but Mark just was a little too strong."
Pole-winner David Reutimann wound up fourth, followed by Jack Sprague and Johnny Benson, all driving Toyotas.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
JLFJR wrote:Thanks for your input, PA! Very helpful.
- By Tothehoopyall1
The poor guy didn’t make it very long. :)
- By aredd33
- By LUOrange