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Jimmie Johnson, left, and Jeff Gordon lead the pack at the start of the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond on Monday.
Fred Adams.for the Times Leader
LONG POND — Maybe Jimmie Johnson can ask President Barack Obama if the early mechanical issues in the No. 48 would have made him eligible for the “cash for clunkers” program when they meet next month.
The way Johnson bounced back from three laps down to finish 13th at Pocono Raceway showed why he’s a three-time champion and was invited to the White House in the first place. Johnson was set to meet with Obama on Monday for a celebration of last year’s title, but Sunday’s rainout moved the ceremony to Aug. 19.
Johnson surely wished he was at Pennsylvania Avenue instead of in the Pennsylvania 500 when his car was wracked with problems near the halfway point. Engine problems forced unscheduled pit stops and the hood of the Chevrolet was repeatedly up with every stop.
NASCAR warned Johnson at one point that he’d be black-flagged if he failed to pick up his speed.
Crew chief Chad Knaus identified the problem and ordered new spark plugs and a carburetor that salvaged Johnson’s finish.
“I assume it was a spark plug issue. That’s the last thing we started changing,” Johnson said. “The car started running better so it’s just crazy how sometimes a little part like that can go wrong. I know our guys will look closely at it to make sure that something like that doesn’t happen again.”
Johnson is a lock to make the Chase for the championship field and lost only minimal ground behind points leader Tony Stewart. Stewart leads by 197 points.
“There’s a lot to be proud of,” Johnson said. “What I was hoping to see from the No. 48 team is coming around right now. This is what we need going into the Chase.”
Johnson, who won last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, had a string of five straight top 10s end. He has three wins this season and has again strongly positioned himself to win the Sprint Cup championship.
“I think we are going in the right direction and it shows to me what my team is capable of, and I know what I’m capable of going into the Chase,” he said.
STEWART’S DAY: Tony Stewart duplicated June’s Pocono effort in every way except taking the checkered flag.
Starting from the rear of the field, Stewart made an unexpected pit stop to check on the tires only 12 laps into the race. He fell a lap down at Pocono Raceway and struggled most of the race before rebounding for a solid 10th-place finish.
This weekend started off just like it did in June. Stewart was automatically awarded the pole because rain washed out qualifying, then he wrecked the next day in practice and was forced to the rear of the field. Stewart picked off 42 drivers in June to win a race for the first time as owner/driver. He never threatened in the Pennsylvania 500.
“We made the best of a bad situation that I put us in Saturday morning,” Stewart said.
Stewart credited crew chief Darian Grubb for keeping him calm and focused on making up lost ground.
“Darian never gets wound up and it keeps me from getting wound up,” Stewart said. “He just helps you through it. It’s easy to get down, but he is just calm and keeps you pumped. You realize you have a long day ahead of you and you will get it better as the day goes.”
HOT HORNISH: No, that wasn’t an old IndyCar race on a classic sports channel. It really was Sam Hornish Jr. racing hard down the stretch and competing for a victory. The former Indianapolis 500 winner was fourth for his best career finish in two full years of Cup racing.
“I finish in the top 10 or I have a bad day,” Hornish said. “We need to get a little bit of that middle ground. We took what we had today and got a little bit more out of it than what the car was worth, so that’s always good.”
It was the first top five for Hornish in 57 career starts. His previous best was sixth earlier this year at Richmond and he is 27th in points.