Jimmie Johnson wins Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 2016: Five takeaways from Atlanta

Jimmie Johnson survived the high-banked turns of Atlanta, to win the 2016 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

It was a clean day of racing early on at the 2016 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on Sunday. There was green flag racing for a majority of the race and as a result, there were plenty of lead changes taking place early on. The 191 laps of green-flag racing to start became an Atlanta Motor Speedway record. After Kyle Busch failed inspection after qualifying on Friday, Kurt Busch stepped into the lead to start on Sunday.

Busch led for a decent amount of laps early on, but he faced early competition from the likes of Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and others. After a poor couple of weeks, Johnson really regained his form early this week at Atlanta, as he aimed to defend his crown.

Despite the lack of cautions and plenty of green-flag racing, the driving was actually really competitive. Without the cautions, it really made the drivers press without having a break afforded to them like they are used to. They had to maintain their focus at the high-banked track.

Kevin Harvick also kept chugging along early and toward the middle of the race, Harvick took his turn in the lead while doing battle with Martin Truex Jr. up front. In the end, it was a brilliant pit strategy by Johnson to take the lead from Harvick and build a huge advantage that Harvick couldn’t cut down. Harvick would get a late opportunity with a caution flag, but Johnson held on for the win at Atlanta.

Johnson would soar to his second-consecutive win at Atlanta and would tie the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. with 76 career wins. He would also earn a spot in the Chase with the huge win.

With Johnson’s big day, here are five takeaways from the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.

1. Green-flag racing dominated the day

While it might seem like caution flags really test a driver’s ability, so does endless green-flag racing. On Sunday, there wasn’t a caution until lap No. 210 and that became a record at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the longest stretch of green-flag racing to start a race.

With the consistent green-flag racing, drivers were not giving that opportunity to hit reset and get the changes in that they might normally make underneath a caution. Instead they had to constantly go with quick pit stops and go with what they could.

As the laps started rolling in, the fatigue really began to build among drivers on the track.  Some drivers were able to handle the fatigue of consistent green-flag racing, while others were not able to.

2. Martin Truex Jr. had no hangover from tough loss at Daytona 500

Last week at the Daytona 500, Martin Truex Jr. finished second in what was the closest finish in the history of the Daytona 500. Truex Jr. lost by one-one-hundredth of a second to Denny Hamlin and after such a tough loss in the biggest race of the year, there were questions if it would affect Truex Jr. heading into Atlanta.

It didn’t and Truex Jr. put together one of the best runs of the day at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. He battled both Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson for the lead and even spent his time up front as well. Truex Jr. didn’t let last week’s close loss phase him and he has plenty of momentum going forward.

3. Matt Kenseth was penalized because of a fueling infraction

If there was a car that had to chance to dominate on Sunday, it was the No. 20 of Matt Kenseth. Instead, Kenseth’s pit crew ultimately cost him. As one crew member began to fuel Kenseth’s car, he also set down a tool on the deck lid for another crew member to use.

That’s a violation of NASCAR rules and the black flag came out for Kenseth. While the black flag was out, Kenseth’s team was too busy arguing to notice and it ended up ultimately costing him another lap, as he had to come back around and pass through pit road.

It was another day where Kenseth could have dominated, but he couldn’t due to no fault of his own. Two weeks in a row, Kenseth has left the track with the potential for so much more to have had happened.

4. Chase Elliott bounced back nicely

At the Daytona 500, Chase Elliott was on the pole and there were plenty of expectations for NASCAR’s young phenom. Elliott would spin out early, hit the wall and see his day come to an end early. It was a big day in lesson learning for one of the future drivers of the sport.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Elliott showed tremendous poise, as he bounced back with a top-1o finish on the day. Elliott raced like a veteran and even had his moments battling with some of the best drivers in the Sprint Cup Series. Clearly he didn’t let his down day at Daytona get to him.

5. Jimmie Johnson is going to the Chase

Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick battling each other for wins is nothing new, and on Sunday, the two had another battle for the win. It looked like it was going to be Harvick’s day late at Atlanta, as he led 131 laps, but Johnson used a brilliant pit strategy and a bad pit stop allowed Johnson to build a big lead.

After Ryan Newman spun out, a caution flag would come out and Johnson would hold on for the big win. With the win, Johnson tied Dale Earnhardt Sr. with 76 career wins and he earned himself a spot in the Chase. The narrative coming in was that Johnson was a driver to watch this week after winning Atlanta last year.

For the second year in a row, Atlanta belongs to Johnson.