NSCS Recap: Johnson Wins Third Race At The Brickyard
Jimmie Johnson ran behind race leader Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin until Montoya received a pass-through speeding penalty during a late race pit stop.
Courtesy: NASCAR Media Relations
Jimmie
Johnson might not have had the fastest car here Sunday for most of the
race. Nonetheless, his car was fastest when it counted the most-- the
last 25 laps of the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.
Johnson
ran behind race leader Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin until Montoya
received a pass-through speeding penalty during a late race pit stop.
That
put Montoya back in the pack and another caution a few laps after a
restart compounded things for the man who led 118 of the 160-lap
distance. Starting from 12th, Montoya improved his position by one spot
to finish 11th.
The
race was left for Martin, who took the lead shortly after the final
restart with 25 laps to go. Johnson, however, had other ideas and
zipped past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate a lap later and held
Martin off to the end. It made it back to back wins for Johnson and his
No. 48 Lowe's team, a first for this race.
NASCAR
Sprint Cup points leader and two-time champion Tony Stewart finished
third with Greg Biffle fourth. Brian Vickers was fifth in the No. 83
Red Bull Toyota and Kevin Harvick was sixth. Kasey Kahne was seventh,
David Reutimann was eighth, four-time champion Jeff Gordon finished
ninth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 10. Montoya was 11th and
rookie Joey Logano was 12th.
The
43-car field didn't complete a lap before Robby Gordon spun in turn
four. Elliott Sadler drove onto pit road while his crew searched for a
possible oil leak. On the restart at Lap 3, Montoya
put some
daylight between himself and the field, signaling he might have the
Chevrolet to beat on a beautiful summer day at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway. After all, Montoya certainly knew the way to victory lane at
this shrine, having won the
After a routine round of green flag pit stops between laps 40 and 45, Montoya still led with Martin second. Stewart was third.
Kyle
Busch brought out a caution on Lap 58 and slammed into the outside
wall. He drove his car into the garage area and parked it even though
he had been running in the top 10. The day was looking pretty gloomy
for Gibbs Racing with both Busch and Denny Hamlin's Toyotas in the
garage with problems before the halfway mark of 80 laps.
On
the restart on Lap 63, Montoya took the lead again with Martin in tow.
Vickers was next in front of Biffle. Johnson and Stewart followed with
Earnhardt behind them. Reutimann was eighth, Kahne nine and Gordon 10th.
On Lap 70, former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr. got sideways and banged the Turn 4 wall, ruining his chances for the day.
At
halfway, 80 laps (200 miles), it was Montoya, Martin, Vickers, Johnson,
Stewart, Biffle, Earnhardt, Reutimann, Kahne and Gordon in the top 10.
Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were next at the time.
