No driver appreciated the recent changes made to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway more than Jimmie Johnson, who won the NASCAR Nextel Cup race here the last two years.
But even with its new paving and higher-banked corners, the 1.5-mile oval “still has its unique Las Vegas feel,” Johnson said.
So does its Victory Lane, where Johnson celebrated again Sunday by winning the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 for the third consecutive year before an estimated 156,000.
The reigning Cup champion did it the hard way, overcoming a pit-stop penalty that left his No. 48 Chevy deep in the 43-car field midway through the race.
It took him about 100 of the race’s 267 laps to claw his way back, overtake teammate Jeff Gordon and hold the lead for good to capture the 150th Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports.
“To get three at the same place is very special, especially when they’ve changed the racetrack,” said Johnson, an El Cajon, Calif., native. “We put a lot into it and its nice to get the reward.”
Johnson, 31, won by nearly three seconds over Gordon on a sunny, windy day, with Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing third and Matt Kenseth of Roush Fenway Racing fourth.
Most drivers didn’t change their negative opinions about the hazards of driving the reconfigured Las Vegas track, and a dozen cars spun out or hit the wall Sunday much as they did in the Busch Series race Saturday.
The track was repaved and its corner banking was raised to 20 degrees from 12 in the off-season. That led to sharply higher speeds, prompting Goodyear to use a harder tire to keep speeds under control.
But the new tire made the cars slick and unstable, drivers said, and there were nine accidents Sunday. Gordon called it “a white-knuckle experience the whole weekend,” and even Johnson said he had “two or three instances myself where I lost control of the car.”
Both called on NASCAR, the teams and Goodyear to find a solution. “The sport is too big to be making last-minute changes,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s win was the 24th of his career, and it was the first time a driver won three consecutive years at the same track since Greg Biffle won at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2004 through 2006.
Johnson was strong early but ran into trouble during a pit stop, when one of his tires rolled too far from his pit stall. That drew a penalty from NASCAR that sent him to 25th place.
Then, “Jimmie buckled down and got after it,” said his crew chief, Chad Knaus. Johnson grabbed the lead after passing Gordon and Jeff Burton, whose Chevy was in contention for Richard Childress Racing before an electrical problem shuffled him to 15th.
