Earnhardt assist gives Johnson narrow victory
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided being a good teammate was more important than winning his first Cup race in nearly three years.
At least he got the checkered flag.
The tag team championship would’ve been more appropriate.
Earnhardt hooked up with Jimmie Johnson in a thrilling Talladega two-step Sunday, pushing his Hendrick Motorsports teammate across the line about a foot ahead of Clint Bowyer in a finish that tied for the closest in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.
Johnson claimed his first win of the season and 54th of his career.
Junior has gone 101 races since his last victory.
He’s OK with that.
“I was more comfortable pushing Jimmie and I think we were the faster combination pushing that way,” Earnhardt said. “If I couldn’t win the race, I wanted Jimmie to win the race because I had worked with him all day and he is my teammate.”
The official margin was two-thousandths of a second, tied with Ricky Craven’s win at Darlington in 2003 for the closest since NASCAR went to electronic timing.
It came down to an eight-car sprint. Well, actually, four pairs of cars, with only the guys at the front of the tandems having a chance to win the Aaron’s 499.
After laying back most of the day, Johnson hugged the yellow line at the bottom of the track — flirting with a penalty — and edged Bowyer at the line.
“I can’t thank Junior enough,” Johnson said. “He made the decision that my car was faster leading. And the way these things are finishing up, the lead car’s going to get the win. ... He was more worried about the team having a good performance than anything.”
The winner gave Earnhardt the checkered flag.
“That just came to my mind,” Johnson said. “He was like, ‘Man, I don’t want that.’ But I told him, ‘I have to give you something for the push and working with me.’ He just said, ‘That’s what teammates do.‘
“I was not focused on where the yellow line was. I was more worried about causing a big pileup.”
