Jimmie Johnson Dominates Party in Pocono

You know how they say never to wake a sleeping bear? The same can be said not to rile up Jimmie Johnson.

A week after a penalty for jumping the restart at Dover knocked Johnson out of the victory, Johnson bounced back and dominated the 43 car field in Sunday afternoon’s Party in the Poconos 400.

He started from the pole due to rain and led 128 of the 160 laps to capture his 63rd victory and third at the 2.5-mile asphalt track. Johnson beat Greg Biffle to the finish line by 1.208 seconds. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, and Ryan Newman round out the top five.

“Jimmie was in a league of his own,” said Biffle.

When asked in Gatorade Victory Lane if this win made up for Dover last weekend, Johnson responded “No, it doesn’t make up for much, but we know we’re a great race team.” 

The race was mostly incident free during the first 120 laps with only two cautions for debris and fluid.

The first accident occurred on Lap 133 when Juan Pablo Montoya and Matt Kenseth spun colliding in Turn 2. On the Lap 138 restart, another multicar crash involving Dave Blaney and Travis Kvapil brought out the final yellow flag.

The next race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is Sunday, June 16th from Michigan International Speedway. Last year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was able to break his win streak. Can he dominate again?

Sprint Cup Series Results from Pocono