Jimmie Johnson did Jeff Gordon a favour by winning the 11th Annual AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500Credit: 314071Tim Bradbury/Getty Images. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Starting from 8th place Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet won the 11th Annual AAA Texas 500, his 75th win in 505 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is Johnson’s 5th win & 20th Top 10 finish in 2015. This is also his 6th win & 19th Top 10 finish in 25 races at Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver to win three consecutive NSCS races at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson has won the last 4 consecutive Chase races at Texas. He has 75 career wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, just one win behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt (76). Jimmie Johnson is the third driver in series history to sweep both races at Texas in a single season joining Carl Edwards (2008) and Denny Hamlin (2010). 2nd Place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford, started from pole posted his 6th Top 10 finish in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 23rd Top 10 finish in 2015. 3rd Place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, started from 2nd place posted his 14th Top 10 finish in 26 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500Credit: 314069Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

4th Place Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota, started from 3rd place followed by 5th place Car 19 Carl Edwards Sport Clips Toyota, started from 13th place. 6th Place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet, started from 10th place followed by 7th place Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet, started from 7th place. 8th Place Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, started from 23rd place followed by 9th place Car 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet, started from 18th place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet, in 10th place, started from 27th place. Brett Moffitt (30th) was the highest finishing rookie. Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 2 points over Kyle Busch.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500Credit: 314049Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images. Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Wurth Ford, leads the field into turn one on the first lap of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The race had 9 Cautions for 47 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 11 for Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford Spin Turn 3. 2nd Caution on lap 26 for Car 21 Ryan Blaney Snap-On Tools Ford crash Turn 2 / Competition. 3rd Caution on lap 37 for Debris Frontstretch 4th Caution on lap 53 for Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Spin Frontstretch. 5th Caution on lap 102 for Debris Frontstretch. 6th Caution on lap 150 for Debris Backstretch. 7th Caution on lap 169 for Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Spin Turn 4. 8th Caution on lap 198 for Car 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford crash in Turn 2. 9th Caution on lap 311 for Debris Turn 2.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500Credit: 314050Tom Pennington/Getty Images. Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Wurth Ford, and Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The race had 15 Lead Changes among 8 drivers: Lap Leaders: B. Keselowski 1-17; K. Harvick 18-26; M. DiBenedetto # 27; B. Keselowski 28-41; Kyle Busch 42; B. Keselowski 43-53; D. Gilliland 54; J. Yeley(i) 55; B. Keselowski 56-251; J. Johnson 252-253; B. Keselowski 254-297; K. Harvick 298-299; B. Keselowski 300 -316; M. Truex Jr. 317; B. Keselowski 318-330; J. Johnson 331-334. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Keselowski 7 times for 312 laps; K. Harvick 2 times for 11 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 6 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 1 lap; M. DiBenedetto # 1 time for 1 lap; J. Yeley(i) 1 time for 1 lap; D. Gilliland 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500Credit: 314052Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images. Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Top 16 in Points: J. Gordon – 4,082; Kyle Busch – 4,080; K. Harvick – 4,079; M. Truex Jr. – 4,076; C. Edwards – 4,069; B. Keselowski – 4,057; Kurt Busch – 4,048; J. Logano – 4,013; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 2,259; D. Hamlin – 2,257; R. Newman – 2,253; J. Johnson – 2,240; J. Mcmurray – 2,235; P. Menard – 2,208; M. Kenseth – 2,197; C. Bowyer – 2,153.

2015 Nov 8 TMS_110815_05Credit: 314051Sarah Crabill/Getty Images. Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 8, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jimmie Johnson took the lead from Brad Keselowski with 6 laps to go to the checkered flag. Johnson beat Keselowski with a Margin of Victory: 1.082 Seconds. By winning the race Johnson stopped any Chase contender from advancing into the next round. 3 Chase contenders will have to get into the final race for the championship with points or winning the next race at Phoenix International Raceway. It wasn’t revenge that caused most of cautions in this race, it was tire failure on this tough track.

2015 Nov 6 311178

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 34
Unofficial Race Results for the 11Th Annual Aaa Texas 500 – Sunday, November 8, 2015
Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX – 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 334 Laps – 501 Miles – Purse: $7,075,075

2015 Nov 8 311175

Finish Start Car Driver Team Laps Status
1. 8. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 334 Running
2. 1. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 334 Running
3. 2. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 334 Running
4. 3. Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota 334 Running
5. 13. Car 19 Carl Edwards Sport Clips Toyota 334 Running
6. 10. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 334 Running
7. 7. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 334 Running
8. 23. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 334 Running
9. 18. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet 334 Running
10. 27. Car 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 334 Running
11. 26. Car 3 Austin Dillon Dow Packaging/H-E-B Chevrolet 334 Running
12. 6. Car 20 Erik Jones(i) DeWalt Toyota 334 Running
13. 20. Car 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet 334 Running
14. 21. Car 33 Brian Scott(i) Shore Lodge Chevrolet 334 Running
15. 14. Car 15 Clint Bowyer Maxwell House Toyota 334 Running
16. 11. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 334 Running
17. 30. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet 334 Running
18. 24. Car 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 334 Running
19. 12. Car 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 333 Running
20. 16. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 333 Running
21. 28. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 333 Running
22. 19. Car 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 333 Running
23. 15. Car 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Online Dream Machine Toyota 333 Running
24. 32. Car 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Sonic Ford 332 Running
25. 36. Car 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC/O’Reilly Auto Parts Chevrolet 331 Running
26. 17. Car 13 Casey Mears GEICO Military Chevrolet 330 Running
27. 39. Car 35 Cole Whitt Moen Ford 330 Running
28. 43. Car 51 Justin Allgaier Texas Lottery Chevrolet 330 Running
29. 41. Car 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford 329 Running
30. 35. Car 34 Brett Moffitt # Visit Dallas Ford 329 Running
31. 37. Car 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 329 Running
32. 40. Car 23 Jeb Burton # Dr Pepper/Estes Toyota 329 Running
33. 34. Car 26 JJ Yeley(i) Overture Promotions Toyota 329 Running
34. 33. Car 95 Michael McDowell Tommy Williams Drywall Ford 328 Running
35. 38. Car 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Dustless Blasting Toyota 328 Running
36. 42. Car 98 Ryan Preece Xyience Chevrolet 326 Running
37. 5. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 304 Accident
38. 9. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 304 Running
39. 29. Car 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 296 Running
40. 4. Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford 268 Running
41. 31. Car 7 Alex Bowman Nikko RC/Toy State Chevrolet 236 Engine
42. 22. Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 52 Accident
43. 25. Car 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Snap-On Tools Ford 26 Accident

Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 98 (engine change) and 14 (missed driver introductions). Failed to Qualify: (2) 32 Joey Gase(i), 62 Reed Sorenson. Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 38 Mins, 38 Secs. Average Speed: 137.490 MPH. Margin of Victory: 1.082 Seconds. Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps. Lead Changes: 15 among 8 drivers.

3M Lap Leader: Kevin Harvick, #4 11 Laps. American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Brad Keselowski, #2. Coors Light Pole Award: Brad Keselowski, #2 196.929 mph. Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Kurt Busch, #41 5 positions. Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Roush-Yates Engines, #2. Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kevin Harvick, #4. Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Jamie McMurray, #1 0.164 sec. Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Busch, #18. Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Brett Moffitt, #34.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: Nov. 15, 2015 – Phoenix International Raceway

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html

Graphics & Photos Courtesy of NASCAR

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