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JOLIET, Ill. — Jimmie Johnson drove the final 35 laps or so at Chicagoland Speedway in disbelief. His chance for a victory — or at least a solid top-five finish — in Sunday’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener fizzled the moment he was tagged for speeding as he left pit road after his final green-flag stop.
Johnson rallied from the late-race pass-through penalty to finish 12th in Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, salvaging a so-so result in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet. But it was far from what could have been after Johnson — who displayed dazzling speed all weekend — led four times for a race-high 118 laps.
“I’m making adjustments and I was dumbfounded that happened,” Johnson said. “You can’t argue it. Maybe a mistake on our part somewhere, definitely a mistake on my side, but I by no way shape or form thought that I was speeding. I was probably the slowest down pit road all day just to try to avoid it and got nailed. I will soak on it tonight and come back next week and be at 100 percent again and get ready to take this Lowe’s car to Victory Lane.”
Johnson led laps in bunches, surging to the top spot after the opening round of pit stops. Down the stretch, he ran second to Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott, who was in position for his first Sprint Cup victory before a late caution flag threw the finishing order into disarray.
But Johnson’s main obstacle arose before the overtime finish ever materialized. NASCAR race officials docked Johnson’s No. 48 in the 234th of 270 laps, and the driver screamed over the team communications to express his incredulity.
On pit road afterward, Johnson was still scratching his head. Finishing 12th and maintaining the eighth spot in the Chase standings with two races left in the Round of 16 weren’t much consolation.
“It’s not as bad as I expected, but I’ve got to stop screwing up,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think I screwed up. I mean, I was completely shocked that I was fast. I’m way under, just being cautious and still got dinged leaving that last segment. I couldn’t believe it. Just mind-boggling.”
Before he was flagged for the wrong sort of speed, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy was a bright light in the performance department, showing sustained long-haul power in the weekend’s practices. His Hendrick Motorsports teammates also enjoyed an increase in their race-day pace, with Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne and fill-in Alex Bowman all finishing in the top 10.
“Encouraging for the cars, for sure,” Johnson said. “I’ve just got to stop screwing up.”