"When I was inside of Tony, I went down in the corner and thought that eight tires would be a lot better than four," Johnson was quoted as saying. "I changed my mind. With where he is in the points, what's going on, the fact we raced throughout the day [Sunday and] he never touched me, I had a hard time doing that."
The rest of the drivers weren't so respectful at the short track of Martinsville Speedway. Shortly after Johnson decided not to use Stewart's No. 14 Chevy as an extra cushion against the wall, Brian Vickers decided to give Matt Kenseth a love tap and bring out a caution.
The restart enabled Stewart to pass Johnson, putting another obstacle in the way of No. 48's unprecedented sixth Cup title.
"You can thank Vickers for that, being a jackass," crew chief Chad Knaus reportedly told Johnson.
The move had many drivers fuming over a chippy day, with a few drivers and crew chiefs saying NASCAR should impose penalties on repeat offenders of crashes. Eventually, an intentional wreck by a driver out of the Chase may cause a contender a shot at the crown. In fact, it may already have if Johnson ends up missing out on the title by just a few points.
