HAMPTON, Ga. -- The No. 48 Lowe's team came into this weekend's Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway looking to rebound from its mid-pack finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Johnson and the Lowe's team achieved their goals of both a better finish and a positive move in the NASCAR points standings, posting a 13th-place result in the Atlanta event.
"We struggled today, but the good thing is, we never gave up," Johnson said. "We got back on the lead lap and were able to come out with a top-15 finish. We're going to just keep working, and I know we'll hit on something."
Starting from the 13th position in his No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet Impala SS, Johnson stayed in and around the top 20 for most of the race. While the Lowe's team never faded too far back through the field, handling issues kept Johnson from moving up through the pack.
The race featured several long periods of green-flag racing, like one 80-lap segment that began on lap 118, which allowed the leaders to put most of the field at least a lap down. By the time the caution flag slowed the pace on lap 198, only 11 of the 43 competitors were on the lead lap.
During that long green-flag run, the handling on Johnson's car caused him to fade back to 15th by lap 179. Eight laps later, leader Clint Bowyer passed the Lowe's/Kobalt Tools car to drop Johnson a lap down.
Johnson and his team kept making adjustments to the No. 48 entry, and the team's perseverance was rewarded when a spin involving Elliott Sadler brought out the caution flag on lap 232. As the first driver one lap down at the time, Johnson received the "free pass" back onto the lead lap.
Sadler's misfortunes benefited Johnson and the Lowe's team again on lap 262. The race leader, Carl Edwards, had passed Johnson and put the No. 48 car a lap down when another spin involving Sadler brought out the seventh caution flag of the event. Johnson again received the "free pass" back onto the lead lap, where he remained for the rest of the 325-lap race.
With the finish, the Lowe's crew gains one position in the points standings, occupying the 13th spot after four of 36 Sprint Cup Series races.
After making long trips to California and Las Vegas in the past few weeks, the Sprint Cup Series competitors look forward to another race a lot closer to most teams' home base of North Carolina. The series now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, the half-mile concrete track in Bristol, Tenn., known as "Thunder Valley."
With six top-10 finishes in 12 starts at the high-banked oval, Johnson and his team are understandably excited about their prospects there. Bristol is one of just seven tracks where Johnson has never won a Sprint Cup Series race, so the driver is also eager to add a Bristol Sprint Cup victory to his resume.
The 500-lap race will air live from Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 16, beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX and PRN Radio affiliates.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, March 14
Sprint Cup practice, noon ET on SPEED
Sprint Cup qualifying, 3:30 p.m. ET on SPEED
Saturday, March 15
Sprint Cup final practice, 1 p.m. ET on SPEED
Sunday, March 16
Pre-race, 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX
Race, 2 p.m. ET on FOX
