DARLINGTON, S.C. -- A newly repaved surface at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval known as Darlington Raceway created some fast race conditions for Lowe's driver Jimmie Johnson as well as the rest of the field Saturday evening.
The No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS finished 13th and was able to spend almost the entire race (323 out of 367 laps) in the top 10.
Johnson complained of tight handling early in the race, a condition that would continue throughout the night. Those conditions were somewhat overshadowed by a malfunctioning alternator. Midway through the race, crew chief Chad Knaus radioed to Johnson to keep the air conditioning off, creating warm conditions for Johnson inside the car.
Several cars made substantial contact with the wall at Darlington, but Johnson managed to keep the No. 48 Lowe's Impala intact despite a couple of brushes with the infamous wall.
With fewer than 67 laps to go, Johnson pitted with the field and restarted in the top 10. But the handling of the Lowe's Impala began to get too tight, and Johnson finished 13th behind race winner Kyle Busch.
"It was one of those nights," said Johnson. "We had an alternator problem that hurt us through most of the night. We had to turn all our fans off and everything, so that was kind of frustrating, certainly; I was warm in the car without any air circulating around.
"And I barely made it in. It (the car) was sputtering coming to the finish. It was just out of juice. The alternator died."
Johnson added, "We weren't the fastest car, but we should have been a little better. I got in the wall early, and that hurt us."
The finish moved Johnson from seventh to sixth in the Sprint Cup driver point standings after the 11th event on the 36-race schedule.
As for the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports family, Jeff Gordon finished third followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth. Casey Mears finished 35th.
Busch continues to hold the Sprint Cup points lead, followed by Jeff Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer.
The next stop on the schedule will be Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 17 for the non-points event, The All-Star Race.
TOP 10 FINISHERS AT DARLINGTON
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
5. David Ragan
6. Matt Kenseth
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Travis Kvapil
9. Dave Blaney
10. Jeff Burton
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS' FINISHING POSITIONS
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13. Jimmie Johnson
35. Casey Mears
TOP 12 IN POINTS AFTER DARLINGTON
1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeff Burton -79
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -134
4. Denny Hamlin -190
5. Clint Bowyer -200
6. Jimmie Johnson -248
7. Carl Edwards -290
8. Tony Stewart -293
9. Kevin Harvick -294
10. Jeff Gordon -364
11. Greg Biffle -382
12. David Ragan -424
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS' POINTS POSITIONS
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -134
6. Jimmie Johnson -248
10. Jeff Gordon -364
27. Casey Mears -690
TELEVISION SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)
Lowe's Motor Speedway
The All-Star Race
Friday, May 16
All-Star Race final practice, 1:30 p.m. on SPEED
All-Star Race Qualifying, 6:15 p.m. on SPEED
Saturday, May 17
All-Star Race, approx. 9 p.m. on SPEED
