NASCAR: Winners And Losers From Chicagoland
By Cole Mentzel
Loser: Johnson’s Late Penalty
Jimmie Johnson may be the only Hendrick Motorsports driver that has made it to Victory Lane this season, but his last win came all the way back at Fontana, and he’s been desperately searching for speed in the past few weeks.
He found it at Chicagoland on Sunday. Johnson led a race-high 118 laps at a track he had never won at before. With a few great restarts and consistent driving, he looked like he could be on his way to another victory.
However, disaster struck late in the race. After being passed by his teammate, Chase Elliott, Johnson entered the pits a little early in an attempt to get back out front. But he was caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a penalty.
He managed to work himself back up to 12th over the course of the last 40 laps or so, but he was hit with another big blow after the race.
Johnson’s No. 48 car failed post-race inspection. If he does indeed lose ten points for that, he would enter a three-way tie with Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick for 13th place in the Chase standings.
Johnson’s late penalty led to a missed opportunity at a win, and with possible points being lost in the next week, he could be in a tough situation heading to New Hampshire.