CUP: Johnson Takes Wild Brickyard Victory

Sprint Cup

CUP: Johnson Takes Wild Brickyard Victory

Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for the third time in the last four years...

Tom Jensen | Posted July 26, 2009 Speedway, IN

Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard for the third time in the last four years. (Getty Images)

ALLSTATE 400 AT THE BRICKYARD RESULTS

Juan Pablo Montoya dominated Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, where he led 116 of the first 125 laps, before a crucial mistake on pit road cost him the race and gave it to Jimmie Johnson, who won here for the third time in the last four years.

Montoya utterly dominated at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading by more than 5 seconds at times until being busted for being too fast exiting pit road on Lap 126 of the 160-lap race. That put Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Johnson in the first two positions, with Johnson taking the lead for the first time on a Lap 137 restart and staying out front for the final 24 laps.

In the process, Johnson, the three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion became the first driver to win consecutive Brickyards, his No. 48 Chevrolet Impala SS coming on strong at the end of the race when it mattered most.

Martin held on to finish second in his Hendrick Chevy, followed by Indiana native Tony Stewart in the No. 14. Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy,the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion of Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers’ No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota.

Montoya, after running out front for so long, ended the race in 11th.

It was an unlikely finish to a race that Montoya ran far out front for most of the afternoon in his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet.

Pole-sitter Martin took the lead at the start, with second-qualifier Montoya and Dale Earnhardt Jr. falling in behind. But at the end of the first lap, Robby Gordon spun at the exit of Turn 4 to bring out the first yellow of the day.

The race restarted on Lap 5, with Montoya and Earnhardt jumping into the lead, as Martin fell to fourth. The field quickly strung out single file, as is typically the case at Indy, and at the 20-lap mark, Montoya was 1.571 seconds ahead of Martin, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson.

Kevin Harvick pitted on Lap 29, kicking off the first round of green-flag stops. Montoya pitted on Lap 32, with Earnhardt, Johnson and others. Stewart came in a lap later. On Lap 33, Denny Hamlin slowed with a broken shifter and driveshaft, which dropped his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota out of contention. During that sequence of stops, Kurt Busch had to make a second stop because of a loose wheel on his Penske Championship Racing Dodge and fell off the lead lap.

When the stops were completed, the order on Lap 35 was Montoya by 2.169 seconds over Martin, Vickers, Stewart, Johnson and Earnhardt.

Kyle Busch blew a right-front tire on Lap 58, hitting the Turn 4 wall and bringing out the second caution of the day. That sent the field down pit road for tires and fuel. Montoya and Martin held on to the top two spots under caution, emerging ahead of Vickers, Greg Biffle, Johnson, Earnhardt, Stewart, Kasey Kahne, David Reutimann and Bill Elliott.

The race restarted on Lap 63, Montoya easily holding off Martin on the double-file restart. Six laps later, Sam Hornish Jr. bounced off the wall lost a right-front tire on his Penske Championship Dodge, just after Michael Waltrip pitted with an overheating engine.

At Lap 80, the halfway point, Montoya had a 3.649 second lead over Martin and 4.516 seconds over Vickers. Then it was Johnson, Stewart, Biffle, Earnhardt, Reutimann, Kahne and Jeff Gordon. All told, Montoya led 74 of the first 80 laps.

Green-flag stops began on Lap 91, with Martin pitting on Lap 92 with teammate Johnson. Montoya followed on Lap 93, with Vickers also in then.

Once the stops were over, it was Montoya by 5.499 seconds on Martin at Lap 94, then Vickers, Johnson, Stewart and Biffle. That order was unchanged at Lap 100, though the margin was down a little to 4.559 seconds.

By Lap 120, the margin was virtually identical to what it was before, Montoya leading Martin by 4.338 seconds. Johnson was up to third by this point, ahead of Vickers, Stewart, Biffle, Kahne, Gordon, Earnhardt and Reutimann.

Five laps later, the final round of green-flag stops began, with Montoya pitting on Lap 126. But the 2000 Indy 500 winner was penalized for being too fast exiting pit road and had to make a pass-through penalty, dropping him to 12th. “I swear on my children and my wife I wasn’t speeding,” said a frustrated Montoya.

That put Martin and Johnson in the lead, ahead of Biffle, Stewart and Vickers. The third caution flag of the race came out on Lap 129, when Earnhardt lost an engine, necessitating a lengthy caution period that extended through Lap 136.

When the race restarted, Martin opted for the inside lane. As the track went green on Lap 137, Johnson jumped into the lead at the end of the frontstretch, with Martin settling into second place. And from there, Johnson was able to hold on to score a historic victory.

Martin began pressuring Johnson with five laps to go, the two Hendrick Chevrolets running in lockstep. But Johnson held on to win his third race of the season and the 43rd of his career.

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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