JOLIET, Ill. – While his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman earned his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway, Jimmie Johnson’s fourth-place finish in the Camping World 400 felt like a victory for the seven-time Cup Series champion.
After qualifying fourth on Saturday afternoon, Johnson let the competition know how competitive his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro was after swiping the lead away from pole-sitter Austin Dillon on Lap 8.
Mother Nature would roar at the 1.5-mile speedway four laps later when severe thunderstorms paused the race for over three hours before Johnson led the field back to racing shortly before 6:00 p.m. (Central).
While strategy came into play to decide the end of Stage 1, Johnson scored crucial Playoff points with a fourth-place result to help elevate his Hendrick Motorsports team back into Playoff contention.
Working with crew chief Kevin Meendering, Johnson continued to hover inside the top-five during Stage 2 and took fifth.
During Stage 3, however, the conditions changed as darkness began to fall, Johnson clinched to his presence near the front despite battling handling issues with his race car.
Johnson claimed fourth, his best finish of the 2019 season and his best effort since finishing fourth at Texas Motor Speedway in March where he also won the pole.
“It was just a solid performance for our Ally team,” offered Johnson. “I’m really proud of everyone. I just couldn’t clear the No. 4 car (Kevin Harvick) when he was so on-track and the car to beat and I think he was probably the strongest car tonight.
“The way some of those restarts unfolded, the No. 88 (Alex Bowman) had a great opportunity with the draft and working very well and got the lead. Once he had that control, there’s really no taking it from him.”
Overall, it was a stellar day for Hendrick Motorsports as a whole. With top-five finishes by Bowman and Johnson, William Byron had an eventful day but led laps and finished eighth after starting at the rear of the field due to an engine change.
“We were really good,” sounded Bryon. “We just had a couple of things not go our way; the one restart and we had one run that wasn’t the greatest. We got back to the top five and we just didn’t quite have enough that last run. Alex (Bowman) and those guys were really fast. Congrats to them.”
Talladega winner Chase Elliott wrestled with his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro but still flaunted his race car near the front of the field throughout the event’s 267-laps before setting for 11th.
Johnson said he was proud of the organization, especially Bowman and the No. 88 team.
“I’m extremely happy for Hendrick Motorsports,” added Bowman. “I can’t wait to see Alex and congratulate him, and this No. 48 team is smiling. It was a good night.”
In a season where Hendrick Motorsports has been vocally criticized for their lack of performance, Chicagoland seemed the times of old – where at least during different stages of the race, a Hendrick Motorsports car flexed its muscle and shows the capabilities of capturing the checkered flag.
With Daytona next on deck, it will be hard to judge Chicagoland’s efforts – but with Kentucky Speedway less than two weeks away, the garage will be focused on the four-car regime of Hendrick Motorsports and whether or not the Cup powerhouse is letting their genie out of the bottle at the time when it matters most.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
