El Cajon native Jimmie Johnson didn’t snap his winless streak Sunday, but he has to be happy with his finish.
Johnson, who hasn’t won since Dover in 2017, finished third in the Food City Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He benefited from late contact between Joey Logano and Chase Elliott who were running first and econd before Elliott got loose going up the track, and made contact with Logano, knocking both cars out of contention on the final lap.
That opened things up for Brad Keslowski to take the checkered flag and move seven-time Cup Series Champion Johnson, from fifth to third.
While it isn’t a win, it’s a good result for Johnson, who started 24th and had to battle an issue with his in-car hydration system that stopped working during the race. That left Johnson unable to ingest fluids through the system causing him to have to rely on water bottles.
Now Johnson, who announced before the season that this would be his last year as a full-time Cup Series driver, will turn his attention to trying to reach victory lane next Sunday when the NASCAR series heads to Atlanta.
