Jimmie Johnson finally captures 1st Sprint Cup win at Michigan - MotorSportsTalk

It’s not like Michigan International Speedway had been a house of horrors for Jimmie Johnson.

Prior to today’s Quicken Loans 400 at MIS, Johnson had earned four Top-5 and nine Top-10 finishes there, plus 586 laps led.

But he had never been able to break through for a win in the Irish Hills.

That problem has now been corrected.

Fuel strategy played a role in the late stages, but after pitting from the lead with 36 laps to go, the race stayed green and enabled Johnson to cycle back to P1 with nine laps left.

From there, the defending Sprint Cup champion managed to hold off Kevin Harvick for his third win in the last four points races and Hendrick Motorsports’ fifth consecutive points race win.

With Michigan now crossed off his list of tracks he’s yet to win at (a list that now only has Chicagoland, Homestead-Miami, Watkins Glen and Kentucky), Johnson also assumes the top seed on the provisional Chase Grid.

“We have figured out every way to lose this race, and today, we were able to get it done,” Johnson said to TNT in Victory Lane.

Johnson also made sure to recognize today’s Father’s Day holiday.

“For so many years, my Dad was here and I wanted to win this race with him here – I know he’s up in Upper Michigan with my two brothers racing off-road trucks – so Dad, we did it finally,” he said.

“And as a father – what an awesome day. It just tickles me deep. I’m so proud to be here.”

Also relieved over the outcome was Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, who has seen lots of heartache at MIS alongside his driver.

“It seems like we’ve had that opportunity [to win] here in the past, and with less than five laps to go, we’ve had issues of some form or fashion,” he said.

“…We’ve had to work the pit strategy correctly today. There were a lot of opportunities out there to do some leap-frogging. It was pretty awesome and a lot of fun.”

Harvick came home second after leading a race-high 63 laps, while Michigan’s own Brad Keselowski picked up a third-place finish at his home track.

Also pulling off strong days were Paul Menard in fourth and Kasey Kahne, who rallied from an early incident with Kyle Larson to finish fifth. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Larson, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer completed the Top 10.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES AT MICHIGAN – QUICKEN LOANS 400
Unofficial Results
1. Jimmie Johnson, led 39 laps
2. Kevin Harvick, led 63 laps
3. Brad Keselowski, led 4 laps
4. Paul Menard
5. Kasey Kahne, led 1 lap
6. Jeff Gordon, led 36 laps
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr., led 1 lap
8. Kyle Larson, led 2 laps
9. Joey Logano, led 29 laps
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Tony Stewart, led 1 lap
12. Jamie McMurray, led 4 laps
13. Kurt Busch, led 16 laps
14. Matt Kenseth, led 2 laps
15. Ryan Newman
16. Justin Allgaier
17. Danica Patrick
18. Juan Pablo Montoya
19. Trevor Bayne
20. Greg Biffle
ONE LAP DOWN
21. Michael Annett
22. A.J. Allmendinger
23. Carl Edwards
24. Casey Mears
25. Marcos Ambrose
TWO LAPS DOWN
26. David Gilliland
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Cole Whitt
29. Denny Hamlin
30. Austin Dillon
THREE LAPS DOWN
31. Aric Almirola
32. Reed Sorenson
33. Josh Wise
34. Brett Moffitt
35. Landon Cassill
36. J.J. Yeley
FOUR LAPS DOWN
37. Martin Truex Jr.
38. David Ragan
FIVE LAPS DOWN
39. David Ragan
—
40. Alex Bowman, Lap 169, Accident
41. Kyle Busch, Lap 169, Running
42. Brian Vickers, Lap 110, Running
43. Travis Kvapil, Lap 23, Accident

Follow @estradawriting

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

Women in SuperMotocross: Jordan Jarvis knows how tough it is

The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

Women in SuperMotocross Ashley Fiolek is building community

Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

Read more about SuperMotocross