Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson had playoff advancement seemingly in the bag until he spun chasing down Martin Truex Jr. in the final corner on the final lap of Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte road course.
Johnson was racing hard for the win, which would have been his first of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. A safe second-place finish would have advanced him from the NASCAR Playoffs opening round and into the Round of 12 that starts next week at Dover International Speedway.
RELATED: Race results | Blaney sneaks by for Charlotte victory
The spin not only ended up knocking Johnson down to an eighth-place finish, but it also spun Truex, who was set to cross the start/finish line first.
“Took myself out of a shot at the championship and obviously affected their day, which I feel bad about,” Johnson said with a sigh. “I wish I wouldn’t have been so focused on a race win and I could have transferred and kept my championship hopes alive, but we had such a good car and just one of those split-second decisions to race for the win instead of for the points and it bit me.”
Truex, who finished 14th, found Johnson on the cool-down lap and gave the No. 48 a firm tap with the No. 78 to show his displeasure.
“He (Jimmie Johnson) wasn’t ever going to make it through that corner whether I was there or not,” Truex said. “Just desperation on his part and pretty stupid really if you think about it because he was locked into the next round and now he’s out. I guess if there’s a silver lining, that’s it.”
WATCH: Truex spins Johnson on cool-down lap
Johnson ended the race in a three-way tie for 11th place in the standings with Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola, and the latter two held the tiebreakers and advanced.