Throwback: Jimmie Johnson Takes Mr. Hendrick for a Ride After his NASCAR All-Star Win in 2012

Published 06/15/2021, 1:33 PM EDT

During the middle of the NASCAR Cup Series season, there is always one non-championship race. This is known as the All-Star race and has been there in the sport since 1985. Back in 2012 though, Jimmie Johnson went on to win the race, ahead of Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth.

WATCH STORY: Nascar Big One at Daytona: Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and More, Gets a Piece of Action

In the final few laps, Kenseth got alongside the Hendrick driver in the pit lane. However, Johnson was able to surge ahead, and it got better for him on the restart as Kenseth had a slow getaway. That allowed Penske’s Brad Keselowski to get the jump on the #17 car and slot into 2nd.

Article continues below this ad

Try as he might, Keselowski could not catch Johnson until the chequered flag dropped. Coming back to Johnson, he made around $11,348 per lap. Considering that he led nine laps, he made quite a hefty sum, along with his cash prize for winning.

What did Jimmie Johnson do?

Article continues below this ad

As he celebrated with a few donuts and burnouts, Johnson gave owner Rick Hendrick a ride. Admittedly, Hendrick looked quite terrified because he was hanging halfway out of the car. Fortunately, Johnson decided not to be evil and simply settled for a drive-by along the track until he drove to Victory Lane.

Meanwhile, it was a mixed day in the office for Hendrick Motorsports, with Dale Earnhardt Jr in 5th place. Additionally, Kasey Kahne finished 9th, while Jeff Gordon finished 13th. Now, nine years later, Kyle Larson won the All-Star race, with Brad Keselowski finishing 2nd yet again.

Article continues below this ad

This is the third time that Keselowski has missed out on winning the All-Star race. Furthermore, this is Larson’s 2nd All-Star win in his career. At least Keselowski can take comfort in the fact that points do not count in this particular race. However, the other side of the argument is that he has missed out on a huge cash prize.

“Nothing Got me Ready for the Experience Here” – Jimmie Johnson gets NASCAR-IndyCar Veteran as Driving Coach After his Difficult Campaign

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.