Subscibe to our feedJohnson Extends Points Lead in Championship Battle
Jimmie Johnson extended his lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship to 118 points over Mark Martin by finishing second in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway.
Johnson started the 500-lap event 15th and quickly showed the field how good the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was by cruising into the lead in under 60 laps.
Click here to see photos from the TUMS Relief 500 at Martinsville
The runner-up finish is Johnson’s ninth top-five result in his last nine starts at the half-mile track. It is also his 15th top-10 in 16 career starts there.
After taking the lead for the first time on Lap 59, Johnson went on to lead five more times for a total of 164 laps. But when Denny Hamlin passed the Lowe’s Chevy on a long green-flag run late in the race (Lap 363), Johnson was never able to regain the top spot.
He concentrated on a hard-charging Juan Pablo Montoya and teammate Jeff Gordon in a series of late-race restarts to hold on to the runner-up finish.
“Yeah, it went well for us,” said Johnson. “At times had a really fast car and the best car. The last run or two at the end the 11 had their stuff right. I was just a little too loose to do anything with him. Over the long haul we were probably the second best car the last two or three stops and finished where we should have, so I'm happy with that.
“I was nervous with those restarts at the end,” continued Johnson. “I hoped that I might have a chance to get by Denny, but at the same time being stuck in that outside lane there was so much too lose, I was really nervous about just getting to the bottom and protecting the position I was in. All in all, a good day. I wish we could have won, but we just didn't have anything for the 11 on that last run.”
Hamlin led the final 139 laps for the win. Montoya, Kyle Busch and Gordon rounded out the top five.
Johnson now leads Martin (-118), Gordon (-150), Tony Stewart (-192) and Montoya (-200) in the Championship standings with four races remaining.
The Sprint Cup Series circuit will now travel to Talladega Superspeedway for the next event on the schedule. Coverage begins Sunday, Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. ET on ABC.