By Ryan - Posted on March 3, 2010
After hearing all week that he was lucky in last week’s win, Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team were determined to prove that you make your own luck at the racetrack. And he did, again using success on pit road to propel him to victory at Las Vegas.
The seventh and final caution flag came out on lap 228; Johnson pitted and took four tires. Jeff Gordon, who had been leading the race at the time, took two tires. He later believed that this decision cost him the win. Gordon, who dominated the race by leading 219 of the 267 laps, was disappointed.
"Well, you know, if we won the race we'd look like geniuses, Steve would have. The fact that we lost the race, now Chad looks like a genius. That's how it goes sometimes. When you're leading, that's the toughest position to be in, to make that call.
"You know, I felt like we needed to come in and get some tires, but I felt like two tires was the right call, too. We just needed the 48 to take two. They did the opposite of us. That won the race for them."
Kevin Harvick continued his torrid start to the season, finishing second to Johnson, even after scraping the wall in the practice session on Friday and beginning the race in the 34th starting spot. Rounding out the top 5 were Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Math Kenseth. The top ten included Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, and Greg Biffle.
A dramatic moment in the race occurred when Earnhardt-Ganassi teammates Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray crashed. Montoya’s frustration was clear in the moments post-crash.
“He just plain and simple wrecked us. He's just trying to prove to people he can drive a race car and I guess he isn't doing too many favors on this team. It really ruined our day [and] for the Chase, this doesn't help. We had a problem last week with the motor [finishing 37th] and this this week. It's painful."
Jimmie Johnson’s ability to stay out of trouble on the 1.5-mile track and crew chief Chad Knaus’ good calls on pit road proved the difference on this day. The victory moves Jimmie Johnson to 12th place on the list of Cup Series victories. With his next win, he will tie NASCAR legends Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 11th place. And as Chad Knaus radioed to Johnson after he took the checkered flag, “No luck involved in that one.”
