Jimmie Johnson did something at Martinsville Monday that he hasn’t done since 2005.
The driver who had won five out of the last eight races at Martinsville didn’t lead a single lap.
Johnson had been expected to contend for the win at Martinsville. But in reality the driver who won three of the first five races of the season including the previous race the week prior at Bristol not only didn’t contend, he finished ninth tying his worst finish here which happened in his second full year of Sprint Cup completion in 2003.
It also marked the first time since 2005 that Johnson had finished outside the top five. According to Johnson the team was preparing for the future and that led to a terrible day.
“We were trying some stuff through the company, especially on the 48 car today,” Johnson said.
The problems for Johnson began to surface during the three practice sessions that were squeezed in between the frequent rain showers all weekend. Johnson was never able to get the Chevy faster than seventh and that came during the first session.
“We thought we would get it sorted out in practice and just came up a little short.” Johnson said. “Didn’t get enough time with our new ideas.”
Johnson had one consolation at the end of the day; he leaves Martinsville leading the points. And he said with knowledge the team can use as the season goes on.
“We know what we were trying here today will help us at other tracks down the road.” Johnson said “In some respects you wish you could just come back with the same stuff all the time and have it work but this garage area doesn’t sit still. With the fast start we have had we wanted to be smart and try some things out. Ninth today was about it for us.”
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