By Jared Turner

Jimmie Johnson arrived at Kansas just barely on the right side of the cutoff line for advancing to the next round of the playoffs. He also left on the right side of it — barely. After avoiding major damage in two separate solo spins that put his championship hopes in serious jeopardy, Johnson avoided a late multi-car crash that swallowed up some of his playoff rivals. Johnson then rallied to finish 11th — not great but good enough to advance to the Round of 8. And with that, Johnson’s drive for a record-breaking eighth series championship remains alive. “The car was extremely loose,” Johnson said after Kansas. “We fought the balance throughout the day, and the car would swing so hard. We were trying for short run speed to free the car up, and we just got too far with it, and I spun out twice. Thankfully, I didn’t hit anything too hard.”