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Johnson surges for 5th Sprint win
Qualifying: The Hartford native finished 42nd in Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He completed 20 laps to earn $68,840.
Season to date: Before the race, Blaney was in 41st place in the Sprint Cup Series standings with 551 points.
Next: NASCAR’s top series is off to Daytona, Fla., for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400. TNT coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Staff report
Associated Press
LOUDON, N.H.
Kurt Busch tried to bump-and-run past Jimmie Johnson for a win.
What he really did was anger the four-time Cup champion.
“I thought, I don’t care if I win this race or not,” Johnson said. “I don’t care if I finish this damn thing. I’m running into him and get by him one way or another.”
Johnson paid back Busch with a poke of his own in the final stretch to surge ahead with two laps left and win the Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday for his fifth victory of the season.
“For sure, that’s what the fans want to see,” Johnson said.
Busch grabbed the lead with about seven laps left when he nudged Johnson in the left rear and out of the way. Johnson ran down Busch and quickly got side-by-side to energize what had been a lackluster race on the 1.058-mile track.
Johnson put a little bump on Busch to move him up the track, allowing the No. 48 to slip underneath for the victory. His five wins tie Denny Hamlin for the series lead.
“I’m not good at doing that stuff,” Johnson said. “Usually I crash myself in the process. So I tried it once and moved him. The second time I moved him out of the way and got by him.”
Tony Stewart finished second and Busch was third. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.