FINAL NOTEBOOK - JOHNSON PLAYS THE PIT ROAD ROULETTE AND WINS

 

Gambling paid off for Jimmie Johnson.

The six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and crew chief Chad Knaus decided to stay on the race track when others pitted. Allowing him to break away from the field and win Saturday night's rain-delayed Spongebob Squarepants 400 from Kansas Speedway. The rain started 98 laps into the race and brought out a red flag which lasted for over two hours.

Johnson entered the race virtually locked into 2015's Chase for the Championship with two wins on the 2015 which allowed the #48 Lowe's team to remain aggressive both on the track and in strategy.

"We gambled with our pit call and had just enough time to get to the finish line before the #4 (Harvick) on his new tires could get to us," Johnson said. "Well played. In some ways, we fought really hard to get to Victory Lane but it's fun to win one gambling. We haven't really gambled before and won, so it feels a little different. It's pretty cool to have that come together."

The win is Johnson's third on the young 2015 season and his third at Kansas Speedway. The win is Johnson's 73rd of his career and his 23rd at a 1.5-mile track; a Sprint Cup record.

Kevin Harvick also entered the weekend with two victories and finished in second place. The finish marks eight times in which Harvick, the defending Sprint Cup champion, has finished inside the top two.

Harvick was leading the race at the time of the final caution and couldn't make up the track position on Johnson.

"In the end, the #48 (Johnson) and #88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr) didn't have the speed, so they gambled," Harvick said. "They were able to get enough cars in between us so that we were not able to have enough laps to get around them. It's kind of a tough spot when you're leading the race to know what's right and what's wrong because you know half of them are going to come in and half of them are going to stay out."

Johnson and Harvick have won all five races held on 1.5-mile racetracks this season.

Last week's winner at Talladega, Dale Earnhardt, Jr, joined his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson in gambling and didn't pit either on the final caution. Earnhardt, Jr, however, wasn't able to fend off Harvick either but still managed to finish in third place.

Jeff Gordon battled an ill-handling car all race long and pit road woes to still manage a fourth place finish. The result is the seventh top ten finish in the last eight races for the four-time Sprint Cup champion.

Polesitter Joey Logano dealt with his own set of pit road problems in a race which saw him lead 29 laps. Race officials assessed Logano with two pit road speeding penalties and at one point fell all the way to 34th. The 2015 Daytona 500 Champion, Logano, was able to salvage a fifth place finish.

Bristol winner Matt Kenseth finished in sixth place while Brad Keselowski crossed the finish line in seventh place. Kurt Busch finished eighth. Martin Truex, Jr,  who led 95 of the race's 267 laps, managed just a ninth place finish.

"It's kind of disappointing but at the same time I'm proud of the way we ran and I think it's something we can build off of," Truex, Jr, said. "I felt like we were in a decent position there towards the end. I really hate when it comes down to fuel mileage, I think I'm always on the wrong end of that deal but really wish we could've raced Kevin (Harvick) for it there...It would've been fun to see if we had anything for him."

Ryan Newman rounded out the top ten.

Eighteen-year-old Erik Jones made his first career Sprint Cup start and ran up near the front for most of the race but lost control and hit the wall with 73 laps to go. Jones, who drove the #18 M&M's Red Nose Day Toyota for the injured Kyle Busch, finished in 40th place.

While Harvick continues his lead in the points standings, Johnson's three wins put him on top of the Chase for the Championship standings. Harvick's points lead is 46 points over Martin Truex, Jr, heading into next week's Sprint All-Star Race, which is not a points-eligible race.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 11
Unofficial Race Results for the 5Th Annual Spongebob Squarepants 400 -
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Kansas Speedway - Kansas City, KS - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles - Purse: $5,400,236
Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    19    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Chevrolet    267    47    4    104.5    $243,726    Running    1    10
2    6    4    Kevin Harvick    Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet    267    43    1    127.2    $239,300    Running    2    53
3    17    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Nationwide Chevrolet    267    41        97.9    $157,225    Running        
4    11    24    Jeff Gordon    American Red Cross Chevrolet    267    40        101.0    $173,786    Running        
5    1    22    Joey Logano    AAA Insurance Ford    267    40    1    111.1    $168,933    Running    1    29
6    18    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    267    39    1    94.9    $146,251    Running    1    1
7    3    2    Brad Keselowski    Avaya Ford    267    38    1    118.4    $144,906    Running    2    43
8    8    41    Kurt Busch    Haas Automation Chevrolet    267    37    1    111.0    $110,215    Running    1    20
9    4    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    267    37    2    131.1    $122,060    Running    5    95
10    15    31    Ryan Newman    Quicken Loans Chevrolet    267    34        81.0    $126,340    Running        
11    14    43    Aric Almirola    Farmland Ford    267    33        83.9    $130,401    Running        
12    7    16    Greg Biffle    Cheez-It/SpongeBob SquarePants Ford    267    32        77.1    $123,348    Running        
13    9    1    Jamie McMurray    McDonald's Chevrolet    267    31        92.2    $120,106    Running        
14    29    47    AJ Allmendinger    Dillon's/Scott Products Chevrolet    267    30        70.6    $120,548    Running        
15    10    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    267    30    1    105.0    $121,398    Running    2    3
16    26    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    Medallion Bank Ford    267    28        71.5    $113,410    Running        
17    2    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    267    27        96.6    $100,865    Running        
18    22    27    Paul Menard    Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet    267    26        84.5    $94,465    Running        
19    24    13    Casey Mears    Squidward Tentacles Chevrolet    266    25        71.4    $110,323    Running        
20    5    19    Carl Edwards    Stanley Toyota    266    25    1    86.0    $83,265    Running    1    12
21    21    15    Clint Bowyer    5-Hour Energy Toyota    266    23        63.8    $119,798    Running        
22    28    3    Austin Dillon    Dow Chevrolet    266    22        57.0    $122,226    Running        
23    43    46    Michael Annett    Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet    266    21        50.3    $81,590    Running        
24    20    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Zest Ford    266    20        62.0    $92,765    Running        
25    35    83    Matt DiBenedetto    Burger King Toyota    266    19        47.4    $95,398    Running        
26    32    33    Ty Dillon(i)    Plankton Chevrolet    266    0        60.7    $95,873    Running        
27    27    10    Danica Patrick    GoDaddy Chevrolet    265    17        54.4    $91,890    Running        
28    40    98    Josh Wise    Phil Parsons Racing Ford    265    16        40.2    $83,590    Running        
29    41    40    Landon Cassill(i)    CarsforSale.com Chevrolet    265    0        44.1    $83,290    Running        
30    25    51    Justin Allgaier    Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet    265    14        54.0    $102,087    Running        
31    30    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    265    13        52.4    $124,415    Running        
32    38    38    David Gilliland    MDS Ford    263    12        38.5    $90,115    Running        
33    23    55    David Ragan    SpongeBob SquarePants/Arn'sDrmMchn Toyota    263    11        45.5    $106,629    Running        
34    39    34    Brett Moffitt #    Dockside Logistics Ford    263    10        34.3    $80,690    Running        
35    34    35    Cole Whitt    Front Row Motorsports Ford    263    9        34.6    $78,970    Running        
36    31    95    Michael McDowell    WRL/Larry the Lobster Ford    262    8        40.4    $78,765    Running        
37    37    23    JJ Yeley(i)    Dr Pepper Toyota    262    0        27.3    $78,561    Running        
38    42    32    Joey Gase(i)    Tri State Tower Ford    262    0        31.4    $73,402    Running        
39    16    14    Tony Stewart    Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet    258    5        54.1    $96,544    Running        
40    12    18    Erik Jones(i)    M&M's Red Nose Day Toyota    242    0        62.6    $110,321    Running    1    1
41    13    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Freight Toyota    205    3        68.5    $79,330    Accident        
42    33    26    Jeb Burton #    Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota    153    2        24.4    $57,330    Rear Gear        
43    36    7    Alex Bowman    Accell Construction Chevrolet    125    1        32.0    $53,830    Vibration        
 Race Comments:    Jimmie Johnson won the SpongeBob SquarePants 400, his 73rd victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and third at the track. Prior to the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
 Failed to Qualify:    N/A
 Time of Race:    03 Hrs, 11 Mins, 50 Secs.    Average Speed:    125.265 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.487 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    9 for 49 laps: Laps: 9-12 (No. 23 and 26 Spin in Turn 4 [None]); 27-29 (Competition Caution [23]); 95-107 (No. 26 Spin in Turn 4 [Red 2:16:38] [88]); 121-127 (No. 55 and 98 Accident in Turn 4 [14]); 131-134 (No. 20 Spin in Turn 2 [83]); 186-190 (No. 15 and 17 Accident in Turn 4 [9]); 197-200 (No. 18 Accident in Turn 4 [47]); 209-212 (No. 9 and 11 Accident in Turn 4 [17]); 257-261 (No. 17 Accident in Turn 2 [None]).
 Lead Changes:    16 among 10 drivers: J. Logano 1-29; K. Busch 30-49; K. Harvick 50-56; M. Truex Jr. 57-78; B. Keselowski 79-80; M. Kenseth 81; E. Jones(i) 82; M. Truex Jr. 83-121; B. Keselowski 122-162; M. Truex Jr. 163-175; C. Edwards 176-187; M. Truex Jr. 188-199; K. Larson 200; M. Truex Jr. 201-209; K. Larson 210-211; K. Harvick 212-257; J. Johnson 258-267.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.J. Johnson 389 (3 wins);2.K. Harvick 437 (2);3.J. Logano 375 (1);4.D. Earnhardt Jr. 360 (1);5.B. Keselowski 343 (1);6.M. Kenseth 331 (1);7.D. Hamlin 284 (1);8.M. Truex Jr. 391 (0);9.J. Mcmurray 328 (0);10.J. Gordon 317 (0);11.K. Kahne 313 (0);12.A. Almirola 312 (0);13.P. Menard 306 (0);14.R. Newman 305 (0);15.C. Bowyer 272 (0);16.D. Patrick 270 (0).
3M Lap Leader    : Kevin Harvick, #4 53 Laps    Coors Light Pole Award    : Joey Logano, #22 192.397 mph
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Joey Logano, #22     Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Jeff Gordon, #24 8 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Hendrick Engines, #4     Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kevin Harvick, #4
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Jimmie Johnson, #48 crew chief Chad Knaus, 0.650 seconds    Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Kyle Larson, #42
Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Brett Moffitt, #34
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    May. 15, 2015 - Charlotte Motor Speedway

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - CRAFTON "STEALS ONE" IN  KANSAS TRUCK SERIES WIN

 

It pays to know your gas mileage.

Erik Jones dominated Friday night's Toyota Tundra 250 from Kansas Speedway until fuel mileage became a factor.

Jones ran out of fuel with five laps to go.  

Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez also ran out of gas while leading in the final two laps of the race.  Two-time reigning Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton seized the opportunity to take the checkered flag. The win is Crafton's second at Kansas Speedway in the NCWTS and the seventh victory of his Truck Series career.

"I told everybody that it's better to be lucky than good sometimes and we definitely were that tonight," Crafton admitted. "We definitely didn't have the fastest truck; I felt we had the second fastest truck and just lost track position because I had a bad vibration at one point. I took four, and a lot of people took two or no tires and got us back there. I could catch those guys, but it was just super super tough to pass.

"You've got to be close enough to sneak them out every now and then. I've lost them like this so every once in a while I steal one, I won't feel bad about it."

Jones, starting from the pole, led 151 laps, a Camping World Truck Series record on a 1.5-mile track, but managed to translate his dominance to an 11th place finish.

"It's a shame that races have to come down to fuel mileage," Jones said. "It happens so much on these tracks where the fastest trucks don't win...The fastest truck didn't win tonight."

Sprint Cup regular Ryan Newman pulled out a second-place finish. Newman, piloting the #8 Joe Nemechek entry, ran up front for the majority of the race until officials penalized him with an uncontrolled tire penalty. The penalty sent him to back of the lead lap cars with just 57 laps remaining.

"I was giving it my all and I was just so loose it took me 35 to 40 laps for me to get aggressive with the truck," Newman said. "That was too long. We tried to tighten it up and we just never really hit it with a big enough hammer. Getting those positions there on the fuel deal, they told me I was good to go so I never held back.

"Ideally, I would have liked to see a green-white-checkered."

Crafton's Thorsport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter battled engine issues late in the race but managed to bring home a third-place finish. Sauter was in a state of confusion in the race's closing laps.

"I don't feel alone then if nobody else knew what the h*** was going on," Sauter admitted.  "We were decent on a short run. We saved a lot of fuel in the end, we had a miss on the motor so I didn't have a choice but to save fuel. Nonetheless a solid finish for us."

Timothy Peters and Cameron Hayley rounded out the top-five.

With the win, Crafton extends his lead in the points standings to 17 points over Tyler Reddick as the NCWTS will be back in action next Friday, May 15th at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

SAME LAGANO, DIFFERENT DAY - Qualifying for Saturday's Spongebob Squarepants 400 from Kansas Speedway ended with a familiar face leading gaining the pole position for Sunday's race.

Joey Logano recorded a fast lap of 192.397 mph, making him the only driver over the 192 mark. The pole is the fourth of the season for the 2015 Daytona 500 Champion; the most of any driver so far on the 2015 season.

"At a race track like this track position is key," Logano said. "We've all seen what clean air can do for a race car. I feel like I've got a fast AAA Fusion obviously in qualifying trim it was fast but in race trim I also feel like it's got some good speed out there."

The top starting position is Logano's first at Kansas and the 12th total pole of his career.

"It's definitely cool to get another pole," Logano added.  "Last season it took us almost a whole year to get a pole. We won a bunch of first and second session but we'd fall flat on our face in the third session, so it's pretty special to figure out these third sessions and still have a lot of speed in our cars when we get to those rounds. "

Joining Logano on the front row will be Kasey Kahne by virtue of a 191.911 mph lap speed.

"Our final run was our best run of the day," Kahne admitted. "I'm happy with the car, the speed of the car, the engine, and the guys for making it better throughout the entire day. I look forward to tomorrow night; it's going to be an interesting race. I always enjoy racing here at Kansas, and we'll see what we got."

Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex, Jr, and Carl Edwards rounded out the race's top five starters.

The final Sprint Cup practice session of the weekend also took place on Friday with rookie standout Erik Jones topping the speed charts.

Jones, driving the #18 M&M's Toyota for the injured Kyle Busch, notched a fast lap of 191.306. The 18-year old Michigan native also won the pole for Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race will be making his first official Sprint Cup start on Saturday night and will start in the 12th position.

Jones is eager for the challenge of double duty at Kansas.

"It's definitely the farthest you can get in two race cars," Jones said. "It's two good race cars. We've got a good Tundra for the race tonight and a good Camry for the race tomorrow, so that helped out a lot. Kind of knowing the difference between the two cars, so you know as a driver when you're jumping back and forth. You keep that in your mind when you do it, and we're able to go back and forth and keep good speed in each one of them."

The defending race winner, Jeff Gordon, logged a fast lap of 191.184 mph making him second fastest in the session. Pole winner Joey Logano was third fastest. Martin Truex, Jr, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr, rounded out the final session top five.

Kevin Harvick, the Sprint Cup points leader entering this weekend at Kansas, was fastest in Friday afternoon's first practice with a fast lap of 190.772. The defending Sprint Cup champion set the track record during qualifying at Kansas last season at 197.612.

Logano was second fastest in Friday opening session. Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr, rounded out the session's top five fastest drivers.