Credit: 308734Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
Starting from 19th place Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet won the 5th Annual SpongeBob SquarePants 400, his 73rd win in 482 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is Johnson’s 3rd win & 8th Top 10 finish in 2015. This is his 3rd win & 15th Top 10 finish in 18 races at Kansas Speedway. 2nd Place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet started from 6th place posted his 9th Top 10 finish in 19 races at Kansas Speedway. It is his 10th Top 10 finish in 2015. 3rd Place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet started from 17th place posted his 9th Top 10 finish in 18 races at Kansas Speedway.
Credit: 308742Jamie Squire/Getty Images. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, poses with his team in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
4th Place Car 24 Jeff Gordon American Red Cross Chevrolet started from 11th place followed by 5th place Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford started from pole. 6th Place Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota started from 18th place followed by 7th place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Avaya Ford started from 3rd place. 8th Place Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet started from 4th place followed by 9th place Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet started from 4th place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet in 10th place, started from 15th place. Brett Moffitt (34th) was the highest finishing
rookie. Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 46 points over Martin Truex Jr.
Credit: 308727Brian Lawdermilk/NASCAR via Getty Images. Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, and Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Great Clips Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
The race had action with 9 Cautions for 49 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 9 for Car 23 JJ Yeley Dr Pepper Toyota and Car 26 Jeb Burton Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota Spin in Turn 4. 2nd Caution on lap 27 for Competition Caution. 3rd Caution on lap 95 for Car 26 Jeb Burton Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota Spin in Turn 4 [Red 2:16:38]. 4th Caution on lap 121 for Car 55 David Ragan SpongeBob SquarePants/Arn’sDrmMchn and Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford Accident in Turn 4. 5th Caution on lap 131 for Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota Spin in Turn 2. 6th Caution on lap 186 for Car 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota and Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford crash in Turn 4. 7th Caution on lap 197 for Car 18 Erik Jones M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota crash in Turn 4. 8th Caution on lap 209 for Car 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford and Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota crash in Turn 4. 9th Caution on lap 257 for Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford crash in Turn 2.
Credit: 308743Ed Zurga/Getty Images. Erik Jones, driver of the #18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota, sparks during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
The race had 16 Lead Changes among 10 drivers: J. Logano 1-29; K. Busch 30-49; K. Harvick 50-56; M. Truex Jr. 57-78; B. Keselowski 79-80; M. Kenseth 81; E. Jones(i) 82; M. Truex Jr. 83-121; B. Keselowski 122-162; M. Truex Jr. 163-175; C. Edwards 176-187; M. Truex Jr. 188-199; K. Larson 200; M. Truex Jr. 201-209; K. Larson 210-211; K. Harvick 212-257; J. Johnson 258-267.
Credit: 308726Jamie Squire/Getty Images. Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Insurance Ford, and Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Great Clips Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
Chase Grid Outlook: 1.J. Johnson 389 (3 wins);2.K. Harvick 437 (2);3.J. Logano 375 (1);4.D. Earnhardt Jr. 360 (1);5.B. Keselowski 343 (1);6.M. Kenseth 331 (1);7.D. Hamlin 284 (1);8.M. Truex Jr. 391 (0);9.J. Mcmurray 328 (0);10.J. Gordon 317 (0);11.K. Kahne 313 (0);12.A. Almirola 312 (0);13.P. Menard 306 (0);14.R. Newman 305 (0);15.C. Bowyer 272 (0);16.D. Patrick 270 (0).
Credit: 308730Jerry Markland/Getty Images. The sun sets over pit road during a rain delay of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
The race was exciting with a 3 car fight to the finish for the win with 6 laps to go. Jimmie Johnson beat Kevin Harvick with a Margin of Victory: 0.487 Seconds. The race was won at midnight local time, because of a 2 hour and 16 minute rain delay.
“It was a long, hard night,” Johnson, who led just 10 laps and who spun out unassisted early in the race, said in Victory Lane. “Once we got up front, we were able to hang on.”
Reminded about what day it was when he finally took the checkered flag, Johnson said, “I just want to wish Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. My mother and especially my wife Chani (Johnson, wife), hopefully she is still awake. I wish she was here. I wish my girls were here too, but I will be home tonight and we will have some fun tomorrow.”
“I could tell he (crew chief Chad Knaus) was having a hard time making the decision,” Johnson said. “I’m kind of running through the events in my mind. We have two wins, we are locked in the Chase, and we are here to win a race, let’s gamble. Let’s go for it.
Sure enough it paid off. A few more laps I think the No. 4 (Harvick) would have had me. He was awfully strong. Obviously being on right side tires would have been an advantage for him. We had just enough time to get this Lowe’s Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Just very proud of the team and the effort that has gone into it. We have great racecars. I wish we would qualify a little better on Friday’s that would make life a lot easier for us. We have a very fast racecar.”
Harvick said “I’ve been on the other side of this deal where the cars aren’t running good and you don’t have a chance to win,” he said. “We won a championship on pit calls and tires and everything fell our way. We’ve had a lot of things go our way and we’ve had a lot of things work.”
“He wasn’t that strong,” Harvick said of Johnson. “He was just trying to run right in front of our car so for those first few laps when you’re pushing like that it really takes the air off the front of the car and it gets the chatter in the front end and it snaps around. But that was the strategy they took and it worked out for them.”
Car 18 Erik Jones M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota had his 1st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and showed great promise running upfront with the leaders. His day was ended when he hit the wall but you can see he will be a future star like Kyle Larson.
Credit: 308731Kena Krutsinger/Getty Images.Erik Jones, driver of the #18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota, stands on pit road before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 9, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 11
Unofficial Race Results for the 5Th Annual Spongebob Squarepants 400 –
Saturday, May 9, 2015 Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, KS – 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 267 Laps – 400.5 Miles – Purse: $5,400,236
Finishing Position Starting Position Car # Driver Team Laps Status
1. 19. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 267 Running
2. 6. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet 267 Running
3. 17. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet 267 Running
4. 11. Car 24 Jeff Gordon American Red Cross Chevrolet 267 Running
5. 1. Car 22 Joey Logano AAA Insurance Ford 267 Running
6. 18. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 267 Running
7. 3. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Avaya Ford 267 Running
8. 8. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 267 Running
9. 4. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 267 Running
10. 15. Car 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet 267 Running
11. 14. Car 43 Aric Almirola Farmland Ford 267 Running
12. 7. Car 16 Greg Biffle Cheez-It/SpongeBob SquarePants Ford 267 Running
13. 9. Car 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 267 Running
14. 29. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Dillon’s/Scott Products Chevrolet 267 Running
15. 10. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 267 Running
16. 26. Car 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford 267 Running
17. 2. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet 267 Running
18. 22. Car 27 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet 267 Running
19. 24. Car 13 Casey Mears Squidward Tentacles Chevrolet 266 Running
20. 5. Car 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 266 Running
21. 21. Car 15 Clint Bowyer 5-Hour Energy Toyota 266 Running
22. 28. Car 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 266 Running
23. 43. Car 46 Michael Annett Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet 266 Running
24. 20. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford 266 Running
25. 35. Car 83 Matt DiBenedetto Burger King Toyota 266 Running
26. 32. Car 33 Ty Dillon(i) Plankton Chevrolet 266 Running
27. 27. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 265 Running
28. 40. Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 265 Running
29. 41. Car 40 Landon Cassill(i) CarsforSale.com Chevrolet 265 Running
30. 25. Car 51 Justin Allgaier Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet 265 Running
31. 30. Car 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 265 Running
32. 38. Car 38 David Gilliland MDS Ford 263 Running
33. 23. Car 55 David Ragan SpongeBob SquarePants/Arn’sDrmMchn Toyota 263 Running
34. 39. Car 34 Brett Moffitt # Dockside Logistics Ford 263 Running
35. 34. Car 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 263 Running
36. 31. Car 95 Michael McDowell WRL/Larry the Lobster Ford 262 Running
37. 37. Car 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota 262 Running
38. 42. Car 32 Joey Gase(i) Tri State Tower Ford 262 Running
39. 16. Car 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 258 Running
40. 12. Car 18 Erik Jones(i) M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota 242 Running
41. 13. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 205 Accident
42. 33. Car 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota 153 Rear Gear
43. 36. Car 7 Alex Bowman Accell Construction Chevrolet 125 Vibration
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
Failed to Qualify: N/A Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 11 Mins, 50 Secs. Average Speed: 125.265 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.487 Seconds. Caution Flags: 9 for 49 laps. Lead Changes: 16 among 10 drivers.
3M Lap Leader: Kevin Harvick, #4 53 Laps Coors Light Pole Award: Joey Logano, #22 192.397 mph Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race”: Joey Logano, #22 Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Jeff Gordon, #24 8 positions Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Hendrick Engines, #4 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kevin Harvick, #4 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Jimmie Johnson, #48 crew chief Chad Knaus, 0.650 seconds Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Kyle Larson, #42 Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Brett Moffitt, #34
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: May. 15, 2015 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
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