After a night of sleep — how much, we’re not sure — following a bummer of an ending at Charlotte, Jimmie Johnson says if he could do Sunday’s last lap over again, there’s just one thing he’d do differently.
MORE: Watch Johnson, Truex Jr. crash on final lap
Johnson was hounding Martin Truex Jr. on the last lap of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte road course. Seven-Time went for the slam dunk rather than the layup in the final opportunity to pass, and spun his car sideways trying to get by the No. 78 Toyota. The move also knocked Truex Jr.’s car around, allowing Ryan Blaney to steal the victory and ultimately eliminating Jimmie Johnson from the NASCAR Playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker.
The change? Braking slightly different heading into the brake zone. That move, Johnson tweeted, would have put his car even with the No. 78 at the start/finish line.
So even though Johnson’s misfire Sunday dropped him to eighth place and out of the postseason, if given the option again, he’d still go for the win — just with a different tactic.
https://twitter.com/JimmieJohnson/status/1046760060020502528