By John Harrelson, Getty Images for NASCARDale Earnhardt Jr. (88) pushes Jimmie Johnson (48) for the first victory of the season Sunday in Talladega.
By John Harrelson, Getty Images for NASCARDale Earnhardt Jr. (88) pushes Jimmie Johnson (48) for the first victory of the season Sunday in Talladega.
The winner felt belonged to Earnhardt as much as he. "I said that I had to give him something," Jimmie Johnson said after his first Sprint Cup victory of 2011 and his first at Talladega since 2006. "He said, ' no, that is what the teammates '. I smiled and said, ' Take the damn flag. "In a day when two cars tangos and symbiotic dominated strategies on the oval at 2. 66-mile, Chevrolet, Earnhardt and Johnson danced through the project with more choreography and cooperation than any tandem in 499. Aaron with his No. 88 pushing No. 48 of series champion five times — and Earnhardt excitedly barking out suggestions on your shared radio channel in which clues to perform ("I like the middle. I have a race. Go for the lead! ") and when feathering the brakes ("backup! Back up! The backup! ") — Johnson extended fifth to first on the last lap. Swaying in the background off the last turn (again, on the advice of his partner), Johnson swept to victory 0.002 seconds over Clint Bowyer who tied the closest finish since early 1993 electronics score (Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch by the same margin at Darlington Raceway in 2003).Johnson and Earnhardt really had it hit six cars that crossed the line in a two-by-four pairs of Bowyer and Kevin Harvick (fifth place), Jeff Gordon (third) and Mark Martin (eighth) and Carl Edwards (sixth) and Greg Biffle (seventh). Less than a tenth of a second separated the top six. "Both of you all have won this race, "Steve Letarte, crew chief for Earnhardt, radioed later.Earnhardt (fourth), who found solace in the transition to the third in points with his second top-five 2011 (one shy of his total in 36 races last year), was comfortable because their two cars of train was faster when he shoved his teammate. Earnhardt "If I couldn't win, I wanted to win Jimmie, because I had worked with him every day," he said. "And he's my teammate."The duo were not always known by such harmony at Talladega, where Earnhardt called Johnson "idiot" to provoke a large pileup during a race in May 2005. But they were bosom buddies Sunday. During a stop early, Earnhardt paused in Johnson's tent so they wouldn't be separated on a reboot. They were pasted nose to tail for nearly all 500 miles and chattered constantly on tactics — with Earnhardt, often providing comic relief by needling Letarte and his spotter, T.J. Majors. "The man, he is a riot," said Johnson. "There are fun things. Seriously, it was committed, as I was, and it showed. Neither of us were selfish, and we work as a group. "Gordon, who started on pole, said "don't let your wingman" was the philosophy for Hendrick cars, and it seemed to be shared by the entire field. Many drivers installed scanner frequencies of nearly two dozen rivals, and banking of 33 degrees of Talladega was much roomier than ever had been during the restrictor-plate (the horse power-stealing were added for 23 years to quell speeds).The typical large, undulating packages in Talladega disappeared in a multitude of trains of two cars. But the result was 88 lead changes (equaling the record set this race a year ago), and Bowyer thought that the end of the event justified the means. "If you did not finish like that and don't you forget about the race, you're crazy, "he said.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ. To report corrections and clarifications, contact standards Editor Brent Jones. For consideration of publication in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and State for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections usatoday.com. We've updated the guidelines of the conversation. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation of how to use the "report abuse" button. Read more.
No comments:
Post a Comment