San Diego cannot just be reduced to another limited start for Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time Cup Series champion returned to the place that successfully ties together his childhood, family, and racing roots.

After facing a DNF in the Truck race where he briefly enjoyed the clean air leading two laps, Johnson finished 28th in the Cup race at the Naval Base Coronado.

Asked if the weekend was everything he hoped, Johnson told Frontstretch after the race, “I was hoping it ran a little better, but these cars are so tricky, and this track is something else. We didn’t have our stuff together either, but just saw Corey Heim, and I can’t believe he won his first race this quickly.”

The venue for Johnson carried a heavier personal weight. A few miles from the track are buried Johnson’s grandparents, who served in the military. They lie at rest at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, on the Point Loma hill overlooking San Diego Bay, right in front of Coronado Island.

Jimmie continued on the memories of the track and how the weekend felt for him as he added, “It’s such a tough track, but my experience here, being around friends, eating all the Mexican food I have, life is good.”

On whether Daytona would be the only event he'll continue to race in, Johnson added, “There’s just too much to do on the work side… it’s definitely the behind-the-desk more often than behind the steering wheel.”

The race at San Diego, even though disappointing for Johnson, brought immense delight for the winner. Let’s find out why.

Corey Heim’s breakthrough came from patience, tires, and one Reddick mistake

Corey Heim’s win at Naval Base Coronado marked his first Cup Series victory, and it arrived dramatically. The official NASCAR results show that Heim started 13th and only managed to lead the final three laps. Yet he won by a margin of 10.365 seconds in his 13th Cup start.

Why this happened needs to be attributed in part to Tyler Reddick. He first made contact with Heim's No. 67 and pushed him towards the wall, but ultimately slipped in Turn 2 on Lap 73 while leading. This immediately allowed Heim to fight right next to him through Turns 3 and 4 before establishing control of the race.

Another reason Heim recovered was thanks to his crew chief's advice.

"(Crew chief) Bootie (Barker) kept telling me these were our worst two sets of tires, we were going to be fine. He was right. I couldn’t believe it," said Heim, as reported by Jayski.

Meanwhile, Reddick, who is now just eight points ahead of an approaching Denny Hamlin, stated that he shouldn't have made that move on Heim and was happy for his 23XI teammate's win.

"I tried to battle back and overdid it. I ran him straight in the wall. That wasn’t right. I wasn’t going to pass him for the win that way, especially a teammate," he said.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason