Who’s The Sorry-Ass? Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer Have Humorous Exchange

Clint Bowyer was in the middle of a post-race interview when Jimmie Johnson entered the room, spotted Bowyer and blurted out, “Sorry-ass!”

Bowyer looked surprised and paused.

What did Johnson just say?

“I just called you a sorry-ass,” Johnson said, chuckling.

Johnson, the Chase points leader, was jokingly miffed that Bowyer passed him for second in the final laps of Sunday’s race at Auto Club Speedway.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver had restarted alongside Tony Stewart with just two laps remaining, and it looked as if Johnson and Stewart would finish 1-2, in some order.

But Bowyer saw Johnson trying to race Stewart and simply drove underneath the 48 car, costing Johnson five valuable points in the quest for his fifth straight championship.

“As I was busy focused on (Stewart), this sorry-ass next to me drove inside of me and did a good job of getting the second spot,” Johnson said.

“It was pretty easy,” Bowyer retorted. “I drove right under you. Easy as it’s ever been to pass you.”

Replied Johnson with a laugh: “I guess I might have been the sorry-ass then.”

In all seriousness, Johnson said he “did all that I could” on the last restart and was pleased with a third-place finish – which gives him a 36-point lead over Denny Hamlin headed into the final six races.

As he discussed over the team radio with crew chief Chad Knaus earlier in the race, it was important to Johnson just to finish in the top five.

“We, as a team, have tried to be smart about things,” Johnson said. “The company motto is ‘top fives.’ The races we show up to and we’re like ‘We have to win,’ we honestly make a lot of mistakes – including myself.

“The whole thought process of being in the top five was to have everyone stay calm and in control.”