DOVER, Del. (AP) – Jimmie Johnson was despondent in the garage, his Dover dominance and championship drive over.
With one, cheap part busted, Johnson was knocked out of the Chase.
The winningest driver in Dover International Speedway history, Johnson entered a first-round elimination race fifth in the standings and seemed a lock to advance. Just an average finish – at a track where Johnson has won 10 times – would keep him alive for a record-tying seventh championship for at least three more races.
Instead, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was forced off the track for 36 laps with a torn rear axle seal and his title shot was gone. He plummeted to 14th in the standings and was one of four drivers cut from the field.
A year later, Johnson returns to Dover eighth in the standings out of 16 Chase drivers and painfully aware that one flat tire, one ill-timed wreck could keep him stuck on six championships for another season.