DOVER, Del. (AP) – Jimmie Johnson fell in love with Dover the first time he turned a lap at the track in the late 1990s.
He can’t quit it, even when it left him with a broken car part.
Johnson’s 2015 championship hopes were over at Dover not because of a wreck, a blown engine or a mistake on pit road.
It was a busted right rear axle seal that sent the No. 48 into the garage and knocked him out of title contention. Johnson’s bid for a record-tying seventh championship came to a shocking end when he finished 41st and failed to advance to the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
The faulty finish was a rare misstep at his favorite track. Johnson has a record 10 wins at Dover, dominating the mile concrete track like no other driver.