Tire woes derail Jimmie Johnson at Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — A week after trashing the rest of the field in a solid win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson's car was trashed Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Johnson had a potent car – he led 45 laps – in the Kobalt 400, but he had repeated issues where the rubber meets the road.

On lap 90, he dropped out of the lead and into the pits, complaining of a vibration. A loose lug nut was the culprit, and Johnson lost a lap.

That was only the beginning. A tire issue sent Johnson into the turn one wall on lap 172, damaging the right side of his No. 48 Chevrolet. After repairs cost him 10 more laps, he returned to the track, only to crash again with another tire problem.

Johnson described the first tire issue as "kind of a freak deal." He said the beading that holds the tire together separated.

"The second one, it went soft. So there could have been some damage that caused it or some rub or something like that. It went soft going into turn three and I hit the wall, unfortunately.

"Thankfully, we got our win last weekend. I would love to win here for my sponsor (Lowe's Kobalt tools), but we will go next week and see what we can do there (Phoenix International Raceway).

"It would really be a bummer if we were slow and blowing tires and hitting the wall. There is a little bit of silver lining to know that you have a fast race car."

Johnson completed the race but was 31 laps behind winner Kevin Harvick. Johnson finished 41st.

PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Jimmie Johnson