Jimmie Johnson Wins Wild Pocono
Written by John Davison · June 13, 2004
Jimmie Johnson won a wild and wooly Pocono 500, ending the race under caution for two blown engines and two blown tempers. The blown engines belonged to Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton while the tembers belonged to Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick.
In taking his ninth NEXTEL Cup victory, Jimmie Johnson showed his Charlotte strength again at Pocono. This time however, the race finish was not as clear-cut. An error by a NASCAR official in opening pit road for stops too early led to Johnson taking a late race restart in sixth instead of possibly leading.
The race was punctuated by eleven caution periods for a total of 57 laps (over a quarter of the scheduled race distance) with 16 drivers swapping the lead 30 times.
A trio of Fords running the older engine design had dramatic failures: Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton. Martin’s was the first to fail, after 112 of the 200 laps, while Jarrett and Burton had their engines fail practically on the same lap, bringing out the final caution.
Late in the race, Bobby Labonte brought out a caution for an oil leak caused when a filter dragged on the track enough to grind itself away. He finished the race after a replacement was installed.
Michael Waltrip and Rusty Wallace brought out a caution after 166 laps when Wallace’s brakes failed going into the “Tunnel Turn” and he ran into Waltrip, spinning them both into the wall.
“I don’t know what Rusty was thinking” said a disgusted Michael Waltrip after the crash. Wallace later reported that he had lost his brakes in the No. 2 Dodge and that he had definitely not intended to hit Waltrip.
Fuel mileage seemed about to determine the outcome of the Pocono 500 until a spin by Tony Stewart brought out a caution with just over 25 laps to run. This eased the fuel problems, which got totally forgotten when Robby Gordon touched the inside curbing which sent his car into a slight wiggle, just enough to tap Ryan Newman and spin Newman into the outside wall.
The restart at 12 laps to run still had Jimmie Johnson leading but P.J. Jones got tapped by Jamie McMurray in a pass entering the tunnel turn, causing a severe tire rub and immediately bringing out the tenth caution of the race. This was a quick caution before the green flew again with eight laps left in the race.
Johnson held onto the lead over Mayfield with Bobby Labonte chasing Mayfield and Dale Jarrett fourth, well ahead of Kurt Busch until his car expired with five laps to run. Mayfield kept poking the nose of his Dodge inside Johnson’s rear quarter panel but the caution came out as the field completed lap 195 for Jeff Burton’s and Dale Jarrett’s blown engines.
Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick made contact several times in the last laps, with both Harvick and then Kenseth spinning the other driver. When he recovered after one spin, Kenseth drove back around into the position he’d held before the caution. Then, as the field eased around behind the pace car, he drove into the rear end of Harvick’s car, spinning him off the track onto the grass.
Both drivers were penalized to the end of the lead lap, relegating Harvick to 20th and Kenseth to 21st in the final results.
Radio conversations at the track centered on the fact that Kenseth had passed about ten cars to get to Harvick and the contacts between Harvick and Kenseth. The pair had earlier touched, with Harvick passing Kenseth with Kenseth then pushing Harvick down the track before making another pass for the position.
The consensus is that there will be another news item from NASCAR this Tuesday or Wednesday, concerning several penalties as a result of this race.
On one caution, a NASCAR official mistakenly opened pit road just after Johnson passed the pit entrance. This almost appeared to have cost Johnson the win at the time, with much discussion between his crew chief Chad Knaus and NASCAR officials. As it ended, Johnson managed to eke just enough mileage out of his No. 48 Chevy to stay running until the checker under caution.
And, in a sad commentary on the state of the sport and a rising trend toward hooliganism in American spectators (I refuse to call this kind of person a “fan”) someone threw a cooler at the flag stand, hitting the assistant flagger. Reports are that the perpetrator was identified and removed. We can only hope that this hoodlum was removed in handcuffs and will be allowed to contemplate his errors as a guest of the State of Pennsylvania on assault charges.
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Unofficial Race Results: Pocono 500
Pocono Raceway
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, Pts, Bns, Total Award, Status, Times Led, Laps Led
1, 5, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 200, 190, 10, $186,950, Running, 8, 126
2, 7, Jeremy Mayfield, No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 200, 175, 5, $149,495, Running, 1, 5
3, 17, Bobby Labonte, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, 200, 170, 5, $139,953, Running, 1, 1
4, 6, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, 200, 165, 5, $132,858, Running, 2, 19
5, 27, Kurt Busch, No. 97 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford, 200, 155, 0, $95,600, Running,,
6, 16, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, 200, 150, 0, $121,718, Running,,
7, 19, Terry Labonte, No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet, 200, 151, 5, $96,640, Running, 1, 1
8, 13, Robby Gordon, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, 200, 142, 0, $98,377, Running,,
9, 14, Jamie McMurray, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 200, 138, 0, $75,390, Running,,
10, 21, Casey Mears, No. 41 Target Dodge, 200, 134, 0, $82,090, Running,,
11, 9, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Pennzoil/National Guard Ford, 200, 135, 5, $71,240, Running, 2, 2
12, 12, Elliott Sadler, No. 38 M&M’s Ford, 200, 127, 0, $96,183, Running,,
13, 2, Brian Vickers#, No. 25 GMAC Chevrolet, 200, 129, 5, $71,215, Running, 1, 1
14, 1, Kasey Kahne#, No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 200, 126, 5, $107,990, Running, 3, 4
15, 32, Jeff Green, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge, 200, 118, 0, $87,740, Running,,
16, 40, Scott Riggs#, No. 10 Valvoline Chevrolet, 200, 115, 0, $89,777, Running,,
17, 26, Ward Burton, No. 0 NetZero Hi-Speed Chevrolet, 200, 112, 0, $59,290, Running,,
18, 3, Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, 200, 114, 5, $85,090, Running, 1, 10
19, 35, Ricky Rudd, No. 21 Keep It Genuine Ford, 200, 106, 0, $84,696, Running,,
20, 23, Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, 200, 103, 0, $95,593, Running,,
21, 15, Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DeWalt Power Tools Ford, 200, 105, 5, $105,918, Running, 2, 5
22, 37, P.J. Jones, No. 50 Arnold Development Co. Dodge, 198, 102, 5, $57,790, Running, 1, 1
23, 33, Jimmy Spencer, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet, 198, 94, 0, $68,890, Running,,
24, 39, Jeff Burton, No. 99 Duke Children’s Hospital Ford, 196, 91, 0, $90,632, Engine,,
25, 18, Ken Schrader, No. 49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge, 196, 88, 0, $56,915, Running,,
26, 10, Dale Jarrett, No. 88 UPS Ford, 195, 90, 5, $88,082, Engine, 2, 2
27, 8, Tony Stewart, No. 20 The Home Depot Chevrolet, 194, 87, 5, $100,393, Running, 1, 1
28, 43, Geoffrey Bodine, No. 98 Lucas Oil Ford, 194, 79, 0, $53,465, Running,,
29, 29, Dave Blaney, No. 30 America Online Chevrolet, 191, 76, 0, $63,790, Running,,
30, 11, Ryan Newman, No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, 183, 78, 5, $100,007, Accident, 2, 18
31, 20, Sterling Marlin, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge, 176, 75, 5, $86,490, Accident, 1, 2
32, 30, Rusty Wallace, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 167, 67, 0, $96,673, Accident,,
33, 22, Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet, 166, 64, 0, $89,621, Accident,,
34, 34, Ricky Craven, No. 32 Tide Chevrolet, 152, 61, 0, $68,829, Engine,,
35, 24, Scott Wimmer#, No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, 125, 58, 0, $60,265, Accident,,
36, 4, Mark Martin, No. 6 Viagra Ford, 112, 60, 5, $60,065, Engine, 1, 2
37, 25, Kyle Petty, No. 45 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny Dodge, 101, 52, 0, $51,900, Engine,,
38, 41, Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Racing for Jesus/Red Line Oil Dodge, 71, 49, 0, $51,785, Handling,,
39, 31, Brendan Gaughan#, No. 77 Kodak/Jasper Dodge, 59, 46, 0, $59,660, Engine,,
40, 42, Kirk Shelmerdine, No. 72 L.R. Lyons & Sons Transportation Ford, 42, 43, 0, $51,505, Wheel Bearing,,
41, 38, Carl Long, No. 00 Buyer’s Choice Auto Warranty Dodge, 39, 40, 0, $51,365, Accident,,
42, 28, Todd Bodine, No. 37 Carter’s-Royal Dispos-all Dodge, 11, 37, 0, $51,275, Overheating,,
43, 36, Kevin Lepage, No. 51 negotiationssolution.com Chevrolet, 9, 34, 0, $51,459, Overheating,,
#: Rookie
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 90,000, Jimmie Johnson won the Pocono 500, his ninth career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory. Prior to the green flag the following drivers dropped from their original starting position, under penalty, to the rear of the field for the reasons listed:#89 (engine change);#98 (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: Stanton Barrett; Andy Hillenburg.
Time of Race: 4 hours, 27 minutes, 33 seconds
Average Speed: 112.129 mph
Margin of Victory: Under Caution
Caution Flags: 11 for 57 laps: Laps 2-5 (Oil on track); 51-54 (#0 accident turn 2); 61-66 (Oil on track); 114-117 (Oil on track); 121-131 (#40,22 accident turn 2); 156-162 (Oil on track); 168-172 (#2,15 accident turn 2); 177-180 (#20 accident turn 1); 184-188 (#12 accident turn 3); 190-192 (Oil on track); 197-200 (Oil on track).
Lead Changes: 30 among 16 drivers: K. Kahne (Pole); J. Nemechek 1-10; J. Johnson 11-35; P. Jones 36; J. Johnson 37-50; D. Jarrett 51; K. Kahne 52; S. Marlin 53-54; J. Johnson 55; B. Vickers 56; J. Johnson 57-71; J. Gordon 72-85; J. Johnson 86-89; G. Biffle 90; R. Newman 91; T. Labonte 92; T. Stewart 93; M. Martin 94-95; D. Jarrett 96; B. Labonte 97; M. Kenseth 98; K. Kahne 99; J. Johnson 100-113; G. Biffle 114; R. Newman 115-131; J. Johnson 132-156; M. Kenseth 157-160; K. Kahne 161-162; J. Gordon 163-167; J. Mayfield 168-172; J. Johnson 173-200.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,113; (2) J. Johnson 2,055; (3) M. Kenseth 1,889; (4) J. Gordon 1,874; (5) T. Stewart 1,854; (6) B. Labonte 1,812; (7) K. Busch 1,803; (8) E. Sadler 1,773; (9) K. Harvick 1,735; (10) R. Newman 1,674.
Top 5 Rookie Points (1) Kasey Kahne 176; (2) Scott Wimmer 136; (3) Brian Vickers 134; (4) Brendan Gaughan 128; (5) Scott Riggs 121.(6) Johnny Sauter 117.
Bud Pole Award: Kasey Kahne# (172.533 mph)
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap: Joe Nemechek - Lap 7 169.046 mph
MBNA Mid-Race Leader: Kasey Kahne#
Waste Management Picking Up Places Award: Scott Riggs#
EA Sports Move of the Race: Jimmie Johnson
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Outback Bloomin’ Favorite Driver of the Race: Jimmie Johnson
USG Driver of the Race: Jimmie Johnson
WIX Lap Leader Award: Jimmie Johnson
Gillette Mach 3 Turbo Award: Jimmie Johnson
Raybestos Rookie of the Race: Brian Vickers
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