By Sarah Handy, Staff Writer
In this week’s edition of Throwback Thursday, Kickin’ The Tires will relive when NASCAR driver and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson won the 2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway for Hendrick Motorsports. While most week’s Throwback Thursday is for the track the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is racing at that week, we’ve decided to step back in time even further here to when Atlanta followed Martinsville on the schedule in 2004.
NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson carrying a special scheme on the hood of his No. 48 Lowes Chevy found victory lane for the third-consecutive week in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
Johnson’s hood adorned the 10 lives, nine of those from the Hendrick Motorsports organization and one member of Tony Stewart’s company that were tragically lost a week prior in a plane crash while on their way to Martinsville Speedway.
(Photo: Hendrick Motorsports/Twitter)
With a late race caution bringing the lead lap cars down pit road for tires on lap 311, Kasey Kahne was scored the leader followed by Joe Nemechek.
However, Johnson was able to cruise past his competitors and hold off a charging Mark Martin to score his third victory in a row in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500.
“Once I got in the car today, I knew exactly what we were supposed to do. I honestly forgot about everything until the checkered flag”, Johnson said. “I wanted to do the victory lap to honor our friends. It doesn’t change anything, and we don’t get back our friends that we lost. But it makes all of us feel a little better to be able to do something like this.
“This is unbelievable. I don’t even know what to say. I just talked to Rick (Hendrick) on the phone and he told me to put my hat on backwards for “Little Ricky”. I don’t even know where to start. As I am sure you can imagine, I am at a loss for words.”
The previous week there was no victory lane celebration after hearing the awful news of those lives lost.
However, this victory brought all four Hendrick Motorsports teams together in victory lane sharing hugs and wearing their hats backwards in honor of Ricky Hendrick.
(Photo: Hendrick Motorsports)
Career Update:
Jimmie Johnson has gone on to see a multitude of success in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Furthermore, since 2004 Johnson has won seven Cup Championships tying him with the late Dale Earnhardt Sr as well was ‘The King’ Richard Petty.
Currently, Johnson is in a career high race slump and hasn’t found victory lane since the AAA Drive for Autism from Dover International Speedway in May of 2017.
However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that he as 83 MENCS victories, 227 Top-5s, 364 Top-10s and 36 pole awards heading into this weekend’s AAA Texas 500 from Texas Motor Speedway.