pandr
05-28-2012, 04:38 PM
Botched pit stop takes Jimmie Johnson out of contention
By Ron Green Jr. - charlotteobserver
Monday, May. 28, 2012
CONCORD Near the end of a two-week run in which seemingly everything went right for Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet, one late mistake made a huge difference.
Having stayed close to the lead through the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night, never leading but always lurking, Johnson ducked onto pit road for a green-flag stop on Lap 353.
Then things got sideways.
What was supposed to be a two-tire stop turned into a victory-killing mistake when Johnson attempted to drive away with the gas can still attached to his car. Johnson hit the gas when the jack came down but gas man Brandon Harder still had not disengaged the filling can from the car. Harder ran alongside the car for a few feet before falling when the gas can finally came loose.
It was a critical mistake for the team that won the annual Pit Crew Challenge 10 days earlier.
“No, no, no ... Stop,” crew chief Chad Knaus could be heard telling Johnson on the radio when his driver began to pull away, but it was too late.
In addition to costing Johnson valuable time on his initial stop, he was given a stop-and-go penalty that dropped Johnson off the lead lap and out of contention.
Having won the Pit Crew Challenge and posting a dominating victory in the Sprint All-Star race just after giving team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th career victory at Darlington, Johnson’s dominant run stalled on pit road.
Standing outside his car after the race, Johnson was asked what happened on the last pit stop.
“Couldn’t tell you,” he said after finishing 11th, one lap down. “We just had a couple of mistakes. The last one cost us. Last week and the week before, it couldn’t go any better.
“Some weeks it goes your way; some weeks it doesn’t.”
Johnson spent his afternoon and evening chasing faster cars. For the first half of the race, it was Greg Biffle. Then it became Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne.
On the last pit stop, crew chief Chad Knaus called for a two-tire change. Johnson said he didn’t know if that was the right call or not because of the penalty that knocked them out of contention.
“I didn’t see the leaders or know their pace,” he said. “But I felt like the run before we were much more competitive with the leader. But once we had the pit stop, I just kinda cruised.”
By the time the pit road mistake happened, Johnson and his team didn’t have time to make up the lost time.
“Late in the race, you just can’t recover,” Johnson said. “We had some other little things happen early and we were able to rebound, and I was able to work my way back up.”
After the success of the 48 team recently, it was a jarring change of fortune.
“Things were different (Sunday night) than they were last week when things were perfect,” Johnson said. “With all the traffic and laps, the track loses some grip, but I still think we were going to be a top-three car tonight.”
C/P Thats Racin
By Ron Green Jr. - charlotteobserver
Monday, May. 28, 2012
CONCORD Near the end of a two-week run in which seemingly everything went right for Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Chevrolet, one late mistake made a huge difference.
Having stayed close to the lead through the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night, never leading but always lurking, Johnson ducked onto pit road for a green-flag stop on Lap 353.
Then things got sideways.
What was supposed to be a two-tire stop turned into a victory-killing mistake when Johnson attempted to drive away with the gas can still attached to his car. Johnson hit the gas when the jack came down but gas man Brandon Harder still had not disengaged the filling can from the car. Harder ran alongside the car for a few feet before falling when the gas can finally came loose.
It was a critical mistake for the team that won the annual Pit Crew Challenge 10 days earlier.
“No, no, no ... Stop,” crew chief Chad Knaus could be heard telling Johnson on the radio when his driver began to pull away, but it was too late.
In addition to costing Johnson valuable time on his initial stop, he was given a stop-and-go penalty that dropped Johnson off the lead lap and out of contention.
Having won the Pit Crew Challenge and posting a dominating victory in the Sprint All-Star race just after giving team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th career victory at Darlington, Johnson’s dominant run stalled on pit road.
Standing outside his car after the race, Johnson was asked what happened on the last pit stop.
“Couldn’t tell you,” he said after finishing 11th, one lap down. “We just had a couple of mistakes. The last one cost us. Last week and the week before, it couldn’t go any better.
“Some weeks it goes your way; some weeks it doesn’t.”
Johnson spent his afternoon and evening chasing faster cars. For the first half of the race, it was Greg Biffle. Then it became Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne.
On the last pit stop, crew chief Chad Knaus called for a two-tire change. Johnson said he didn’t know if that was the right call or not because of the penalty that knocked them out of contention.
“I didn’t see the leaders or know their pace,” he said. “But I felt like the run before we were much more competitive with the leader. But once we had the pit stop, I just kinda cruised.”
By the time the pit road mistake happened, Johnson and his team didn’t have time to make up the lost time.
“Late in the race, you just can’t recover,” Johnson said. “We had some other little things happen early and we were able to rebound, and I was able to work my way back up.”
After the success of the 48 team recently, it was a jarring change of fortune.
“Things were different (Sunday night) than they were last week when things were perfect,” Johnson said. “With all the traffic and laps, the track loses some grip, but I still think we were going to be a top-three car tonight.”
C/P Thats Racin