NASCAR Recap – Jimmie Johnson wins Martinsville
Johnson and Denny Hamlin Tangle in a Wild Martinsville Finish
Mar 29, 2009
NASCAR fans have been waiting all season for the kind of excitement the Sprint Cup Series produced at the end of last year, and they finally got what they were looking for in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The action was intense right up until the end, and after a classic battle - and a little bit of contact - between Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, the No. 48 team came away with their fifth Martinsville victory in the last six races, and it came on the 25th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports first Cup win.
Denny Hamlin Dominates the Race
Johnson may have ended up in Victory Lane, but for the better part of the day it looked as if Hamlin would be the one taking home the Grandfather Clock trophy.
Coming off his strong second place finish last weekend at Bristol, Hamlin looked downright dominant at Martinsville; while teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano struggled throughout the afternoon and both finished outside the top-20, Hamlin led a race high 296 laps.
“I’m just better on short tracks, I think,” Hamlin said in the post-race press conference. “It's what I've got the most time on, all my career…once you figure out how to win, you know what to go back to.”
Hamlin had certainly figured out how to get around Martinsville, but the one thing he could not figure out was how to stop Johnson, who recovered from early set-up problems to challenge for the lead with 70 laps to go.
Jimmie Johnson Puts the Bump and Run on Hamlin for the Lead
Once the No.48 made its way to the front, the fight was on; Johnson and Hamlin battled back and forth for the lead until Johnson made a daring move to the inside with 15 laps to go, putting his fender into the rear quarter of Hamlin’s car to move the No.11 up the track.
Both cars nearly wrecked, and once Johnson recovered and powered by Hamlin, he was ready for payback.
“Anytime there’s contact, once you get that position you go into the next turn and you just wait because you know it’s coming,” Johnson said. “You go into the next corner, you hang on, and you hope you don’t get turned around.”
Hamlin never got close enough to return the favor. To his credit, though, Hamlin said he had no problem with Johnson’s move.
“It’s not that hard because I know I would do the same thing,” Hamlin said. “Its short track racing…it’s just part of it; I think that’s what makes our sport as good as it is.”
A Sentimental Win for Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports
The win was Johnson’s first of the 2009 season, but it also marked the 25th anniversary of Rick Hendrick’s first ever win as a team owner, which came at Martinsville back in 1984. When asked whether he felt better about the win or his owner’s milestone, Johnson said the choice was an easy one.
“Definitely it’s the fact that its Rick’s 25th,” Johnson said. “When I was trying to get back by Denny, it was in my mind that it would be awfully special to win for Rick here…on the 25th Anniversary of his first win.”
The win had just as much meaning for Hendrick; he was not at Martinsville the day that Geoffery Bodine took the checkered flag for the first time in the No. 5 car, so Johnson’s win gave him a chance to celebrate, even if it was a quarter-century later.
“You know, I didn’t get to take a picture with Bodine 25 years ago,” said Hendrick. “But we got to take one out there today with Jimmie; it was a special day.”
“It’s really neat to win one to celebrate the 25th, [I’m] so excited.”
Whether you are a fan of Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports or just of great racing, the Goody’s 500 had plenty to offer. Johnson and Hamlin put on the best show of the season, and if the Cup series can keep the same level of intensity next week at Texas, then there is plenty of good NASCAR racing ahead.
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