Johnson outruns the field
Leads 228 of 250 laps in Pepsi 500
FONTANA, Calif. – Jimmie Johnson overpowered the field Sunday night in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway, grabbing his third victory of the season.
The two-time reigning Cup champion was easily the class of the field in the Pepsi 500, leading 228 of the 250 laps on the 2-mile oval. He won the race at the former California Speedway for the second straight year and again gave notice to points leader Kyle Busch and series runner-up Carl Edwards – the two hottest drivers in the series coming into this race – that he remains a serious contender for a third straight title.
Runner-up Greg Biffle had the next best car throughout the race, but he couldn’t keep up with Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet, finishing more than 2 seconds behind the winner.
“This race car was unbelievable,” said Johnson, who has struggled at times this season, particularly on the bigger ovals. “We’ve been working hard to get it right. We’ve been burning the midnight oil, burning the wick at both ends, and it’s paid off. We clinched (a spot in the Chase for the championship) and we got 10 more bonus points, which is important.”
Time after time he built leads of between 5 and 12 seconds, only to see them erased by yellow flags. But it didn’t faze Johnson, who just rebuilt the margin after the next restart.
For a change, neither Edwards, or Busch were in contention.
Denny Hamlin finished third, followed by Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Busch.
Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 11th, and Jeff Burton, who was 17th, clinched spots in the 12-man Chase for the championship that will begin after next Saturday night’s race at Richmond. They joined Busch and Edwards who had previously locked up spots in the postseason.