CUP: Johnson Crushes So. Cal. Field

Sprint Cup

CUP: Johnson Crushes So. Cal. Field

Jimmie Johnson took the Sprint Cup points lead for the first time all season...

Tom Jensen | Posted October 11, 2009 Fontana, CA

Jimmie Johnson took the Sprint Cup points lead for the first time all season by winning the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway Sunday. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

PEPSI 500 RACE RESULTS

Three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson scored a dominating victory Sunday in a bizarre Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway, race No. 4 of 10 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

It was a huge day for Hendrick Motorsports, as Johnson survived a spate of late-race cautions to lead the most laps at the 2-mile oval, where he won for the fourth time.

The El Cajon, Calif., native’s fifth victory of the 2009 season and 45th of his career gave him the Sprint Cup points lead for the first time all year long. Unofficially, Johnson now leads Mark Martin by 12 points and Juan Pablo Montoya by 53.

Trailing the all-conquering No. 48 Chevrolet Impala SS to the checkered flag at ACS were some familiar faces: Johnson’s Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon finished second, followed by Montoya in an Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and Martin in a third Hendrick Chevy. Tony Stewart completed the top five.

Denny Hamlin started from the pole in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, flanked by Greg Biffle’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Hamlin held the lead on Lap 1 with Johnson and Montoya battling for third.

Johnson took second place on Lap 4 and then moved to the lead on Lap 11, looking good early on as Montoya soon claimed the second spot.

Caution No. 1 came on Lap 60, when Jamie McMurray grazed the wall. Under yellow, David Gilliland replaced Kyle Busch, who was ailing with the flu. After the stop, the order was Montoya, Harvick, Hamlin, Gordon and Biffle, with Johnson falling from third to ninth after a dropped lugnut.

The race restarted on Lap 65 and three laps later, Martin took his first lead of the race, picking up 5 bonus points. But Montoya retook the point on Lap 74, leading the Hendrick trio of Martin, Johnson and Gordon.

On Lap 82, the leaders pitted during the day’s second caution, caused by a Ryan Newman flat tire. This time Martin Truex Jr. gambled on two tires to lead Montoya. The green came out on Lap 87, with Montoya going back out front over his teammate from the inside lane.

The third caution, this one for debris, sent the leaders down pit road again on Lap 119, just six laps before halfway. Again Johnson came in leading and for the third time, he lost spots on pit road, emerging behind Hamlin and Gordon.

Johnson went back to the point on Lap 125, and at the halfway point of the 250-lap race, he led Hamlin, Gordon, Martin, Montoya and Biffle.

Johnson pitted from the lead under green on Lap 161. Once the stops cycled through, Johnson led Montoya by 7.769 seconds. Tony Stewart got busted speeding on pit road on Lap 163 and had to serve a pass-through penalty.

Caution No. 4 waved for debris on Lap 186. Under the ensuing pit stops, Hamlin went back to the lead over Montoya, Johnson, Martin, Harvick and Gordon.

The track went green on Lap 190, and leader Hamlin tried to move from the top lane to the bottom, but when he moved down on Montoya, he made contract and spun headfirst into the pit wall, badly damaging his car. Montoya’s right-front fender suffered minor damage, too.

The race restarted on Lap 195, but with 15 laps to go, a caution came out for debris, and that set up a whole flurry of late-race yellows.

The race restarted on Lap 239, Johnson on the outside, but Gordon going into the lead from the bottom. But then Kurt Busch got loose and hit Kasey Kahne, who in turn collided with Biffle on the frontstretch to bring out the yellow again.

Now, the order was Gordon, Johnson, Montoya, Martin and Newman, the green flag flying with 8 laps to go. Gordon started on the outside and held the lead over Johnson, with Martin and Montoya side by side for third place.

Johnson took the lead on the restart and shortly thereafter, there was a huge wreck that in Turn 1 that snared Kahne, Earnhardt, Reed Sorenson, Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler, Marcos Ambrose, Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger. That brought out a red flag with five laps to go.

Johnson restarted leading Gordon, Martin, Montoya and David Ragan.

The green flew on Lap 248, setting up a three-lap shootout. Johnson restarted on the bottom lane, flanked by Gordon.

Johnson held the lead easily, and that was it, winning and leaving little doubt that the 2009 Sprint Cup championship will go through him.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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Tom Jensen

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