Jimmie Johnson hopes a strong run on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway could help energize his team leading into the Chase. Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Jimmie Johnson was looking for a glimmer of hope, and he found it in Friday afternoon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway.
No, Johnson didn’t win the pole for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400. That distinction went to Joey Logano. But Johnson ran second in the knockout session, and what’s more important, the six-time champion and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates outshined the entries from Joe Gibbs Racing, the dominant organization in the series this year.
“I do believe we’re showing signs (of improvement),” Johnson said. “And I’m living it, so I guess I’m looking for those little signs and rays of light and maybe others don’t see it. And I really try hard not to BS you guys when you ask the questions.
“But I could say in the last couple of months, we have seen some bright spots. We just need a little more consistency with it, and then most importantly, stop making mistakes. I’m part of that as well.”
Johnson won twice in the first five events of the season, at Atlanta and Fontana, but since then he has posted only four top-five finishes. Then again, racing in the summer hasn’t been one of Johnson’s strong suits.
“I’ve been able to win championships having a slow summer, which most of my summers have been slow,” Johnson said. “And then there’s a few where we were quick through them.
“When you think of the tracks that we race on during the summer months, although they are very challenging and aerodynamics do come into play, they’re not your traditional 1.5-miles and they’re really not a lot like the tracks we race on during the Chase. And, they’re not my best tracks. My best tracks really are during those final 10 events.”
Though one qualifying session doesn’t establish a trend, it was enough to give Johnson’s confidence a significant boost.
“Past history shows when you get hot, you can stay hot,” he said. “We hope we’re heating up and on the verge of getting hot.”
Speeds Pick Up In Second Run With New Rules Package
For the first time since NASCAR began testing a prospective lower-downforce competition package for 2017, the Sprint Cup Series is returning to a speedway for the second time with the new configuration.
Predictability, crew chiefs have learned quite a bit since the package debuted at Michigan International Speedway in June.
“I think everyone is running a little faster – about a half a second faster than what they did with this package last time, which tells me teams are getting smarter,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, who qualified third for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.
“It doesn’t take long. Once you take downforce away, these teams start to adjust, get their balance better and you see faster speeds. These are pretty quick speeds for this spoiler that’s on it. I think we’ll see how it all pans out in the race – I know it was tough to really pass in the race (in June). Hopefully, that’s a little better this time as well.”
That Hamlin claimed the third starting spot for Sunday’s race is no surprise. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has started from the top 12 for every race this season, with an average qualifying position of 6.2.
But Hamlin had a problem during Happy Hour on Saturday afternoon. Early in the practice session, his car broke traction in Turn 4 and spun into the infield grass on the frontstretch.
“That came out of nowhere,” said Hamlin, who had posted the fastest speed in the session to that point (197.878 mph).
Short Strokes
On a cool track, Tony Stewart topped the speed chart in Saturday morning’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup practice session at 202.122 mph—faster than Joey Logano’s pole speed of 201.698 from Friday afternoon. Rookie Ryan Blaney was second fastest on Saturday morning at 201.427 mph. … A different rookie was second quickest behind Hamlin in final Sprint Cup practice. Chase Elliott, who leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 48 points over Blaney, ran 197.786 mph before nearby lightning brought a premature halt to the session.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, MI
Pure Michigan 400 – August 28, 2016
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1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 201.698 mph.
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 201.523 mph.
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 201.416 mph.
4. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 201.382 mph.
5. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 201.303 mph.
6. (88) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 201.207 mph.
7. (21) Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 201.202 mph.
8. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 201.039 mph.
9. (19) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 201.005 mph.
10. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 200.462 mph.
11. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200.028 mph.
12. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 199.341 mph.
13. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 200.390 mph.
14. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 200.356 mph.
15. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 200.323 mph.
16. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200.245 mph.
17. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.106 mph.
18. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200.017 mph.
19. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 199.253 mph.
20. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 199.203 mph.
21. (34) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 198.912 mph.
22. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 198.791 mph.
23. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 198.747 mph.
24. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 198.183 mph.
25. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 198.265 mph.
26. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 198.178 mph.
27. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 198.129 mph.
28. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 197.553 mph.
29. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 197.509 mph.
30. (44) Brian Scott #, Ford, 196.105 mph.
31. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 196.084 mph.
32. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 196.057 mph.
33. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 195.567 mph.
34. (83) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 195.159 mph.
35. (95) Sam Hornish, Jr.(i), Chevrolet, 194.458 mph.
36. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 192.838 mph.
37. (98) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 192.072 mph.
38. (30) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 191.939 mph.
39. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 188.966 mph.
40. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 0.000 mph.
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