Atlanta Victory Vaults Johnson Into Elite Company

Jimmie Johnson salutes the fans
after picking up career victory No. 76 

 

He may not have stormed from the back of the field like he did the previous year, but Jimmie Johnson still moved himself up a notch in the Atlanta Motor Speedway history books with his repeat victory at the 2016 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

The win was Johnson's 76th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, tying him with one of, if not the, most iconic drivers in NASCAR lore, Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

Put simply, if you were here for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, you witnessed a piece of NASCAR history.

The significance of tying the mark set by the driver known as "The Intimidator" was not lost on Johnson, who during his victory lap, held up three fingers as a salute to Earnhardt, who drove a No. 3 car.

"I entered the sport just hoping I could win a race and keep a job for a few years, and to have 76 and tie Dale Earnhardt Sr. is something I'm very, very proud of. I didn't have a chance to race against him, unfortunately, but today -- there's been a big void in my mind about not having that chance to race against him, and it was literally a handful of months away from having that opportunity," Johnson said. " So to tie him today, for myself personally, it gives me a little something -- it's a little bit of attachment to the great Dale Earnhardt and something I'm very proud of."

Among the drivers in the garage that noticed the gesture was second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

"I told him on a couple occasions that when he tied daddy, he'd better say something cool, and he'd better tell them that it's awesome for him to tie him, because I know Jeff had the flag and all that, so that was awesome when your competitors and peers recognize your father like that," Earnhardt Jr. said after the race.

Johnson now has five Atlanta wins, the most among active full-time drivers, and is tied for fifth with Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Allison.

Track Release

#NASCAR 'Jewel of the Desert' (PIR) Driver and Celebrity Appearances

Celebrities and autograph sessions and drivers!!!  With PIR's Driver and Celebrity Appearances schedule they give you the lowdown on where to be and when, because we all know you’re out to get that next favorite selfie.

Good Sam 500 Weekend
Driver/Celebrity Appearances

Friday, March 11

• 2:30 p.m. // NSCS Youth Autograph Session (12 and under)*, Fan Midway near Corporate Village  *First 100 Youths 12 and under, wristbands & line begin at 1:45 p.m.

Saturday, March 12

• 8:15 a.m. // NXS Autograph Session**, Fan Midway near Corporate Village **First 150, wristbands & line begin at 8 a.m.
• 9:30 a.m. // Abraham Calderon, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club
• 9:30 a.m. // Joey Gase, Trackside Club
• 9:45 a.m. // Abraham Calderon, Octane
• 10:30 a.m. // Abraham Calderon, Trackside Club

Sunday, March 13

• 8:30 a.m. // Abraham Calderon & Ruben Garcia, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club
• 8:45 a.m. // Michael McDowell, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club
• 8:45 a.m. // Abraham Calderon & Ruben Garcia, Octane
• 9:00 a.m. // Denny Hamlin, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club
• 9:00 a.m. // Michael McDowell, Octane
• 9:15 a.m. // Abraham Calderon & Ruben Garcia, Trackside Club
• 9:30 a.m. // Kevin Harvick, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club
• 9:50 a.m. // Clint Bowyer, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club
• 10:15 a.m. // Danica Patrick, Budweiser ROLL-BAR Club

***Driver Appearances and Autograph Sessions
times & participants are subject to change.***

Events and Showcar Appearances

Don't miss the Phoenix International Raceway Show Cars around the valley leading up to the Good Sam 500 NASCAR Weekend and Phoenix Grand Prix IndyCar Weekend.

PIR Show Car Appearances

• Friday, March 4 // Westgate Entertainment District 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.
• Saturday, March 5 // Westgate Entertainment District 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.
• Sunday, March 6 // Westgate Entertainment District 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• Saturday, March 19 // Tempe Marketplace 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

AJ Allmendinger's Las Vegas Motor Speedway Post #NASCAR Race Report

AJ Allmendinger and the No. 47 Smith's/Kingsford Chevrolet SS team overcame a pit road speeding penalty to finish 14th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. The finish gained Allmendinger five spots in the driver points standings (25th), only 18 points out of 16th

“We fought hard all day," Allmendinger said. "I’ve been working on getting on pit road. I thought I got on pit road really good and I will be interested to see the number, but just sped a little bit and got a penalty. That got us behind, but we worked the strategy to keep trying to get back on the lead lap. The pit crew was really good today. Randall (Burnett, crew chief) did a good job. I couldn’t figure out exactly, but I knew I needed the front to turn better. We were just a little free in. From there, we just made small adjustments all day and made it better each run. At the end, I thought we were the best we had been all day. I just had nowhere to go. We took what could have been a really bad day and salvaged a decent day out of it. We are making gains. The car has speed in it, but just a little bit off. I give Randall and the guys most of the credit. I just got us behind. I didn’t want to get us behind early in the race. We weren’t great, but we had gotten the gap to kind of get in that safe zone where we could make our own day out of it and I put us behind. Randall kept me calm. Some of those runs weren’t very fun, but he kept his head in it and made me better.”

“It was an eventful day for us,” crew chief Randall Burnett said. "We got a penalty early on pit road and got behind the eight ball on that. It went green for a long time today and we finally had some breaks go our way towards the end and we were able to get back on the lead lap. AJ hung in there all day long and did a great job. We started off and the car wasn’t great, but we made some really good adjustments and the engineers came up with some good stuff to help. All and all, it was a good day and we were glad to get a top-15 finish out of it.”

"Our goal has to been to run in the top 15 and we proved today that we can do it," competition director Ernie Cope said. "We got ourselves a little behind and worked hard to get back in it. I feel we are a solid top 15 team. The first two races we didn’t get the finishes we deserved and this week I feel like we got the finish we deserved. I believe if we had more time, we would have got more. We are making gains and it is execution right now. Our cars have speed. We have just got to execute on Sunday and this is a step in the right direction.