Jimmie Johnson’s 500th career Sprint Cup start was memorable for all the wrong reasons Sunday, as the six-time series champion suffered a surprising first-round playoff exit at Dover International Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson’s surprisingly early Chase elimination
Jimmie Johnson is out of the Chase after a parts failure Sunday.
Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
The culprit for Johnson failing to move past Round 1 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup was a broken right rear axle seal, an inexpensive part that sent him to the garage for repairs just past the one-quarter mark of the AAA 400. He would eventually return to the track 38 laps behind, but due to a low attrition rate Johnson finished 41st, 11 points short of a transfer position.
“Definitely disappointed,” Johnson said. “It’s tough having a very inexpensive axle seal be the culprit and take your championship hopes away.
“It’s just part of racing. It just shows how critical everything is on a race team and how important every component is and you can’t take anything for granted.”
Having won four races during the regular season, Johnson began the playoffs as the No. 1 seed pursuing a seventh champion that would tie him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most all-time. Johnson entered Dover, where he’s won a track-record 10 times, fifth in the standings, but fell to 14th in the 16-driver field.
The four lowest-ranked drivers without a victory were eliminated Sunday. Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer were also cut. But it was Johnson’s elimination that was most stunning.
“Heartbreaking for sure,” Johnson said. “But I don’t know what else we can do about it we just have to go on and try to win races and close out the season strong.”
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