TALLADEGA, Ala. -- A wild ending Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway resulted in a 13th-place finish for Team Lowe's Racing and driver Jimmie Johnson.
After hanging in the back of the field for the majority of Sunday's 188-lap restrictor-plate race, Johnson began making his way through the field with fewer than 25 laps remaining.
When the event restarted on lap 184 following the seventh caution of the day, Johnson was in second place with Michael Waltrip in front of him and Kyle Busch in his rear-view mirror. But as Johnson made his move to take the lead going into turn 3, Busch muscled his way beneath the No. 48 Impala SS and Johnson found himself stuck on the outside with no drafting help.
With time winding down, the two-time Cup champion was working to make his way back toward the front on the final lap of the race but was caught up in a 12-car accident before he got there.
"We were in a good position toward the end but got there just a little too early," said Johnson, who started 10th. "The (No.) 55 (Waltrip) and I were working well together, but I think he blew up at the end there with me pushing him. We got some damage on the last lap but came out OK in the Lowe's Impala SS."
The finish dropped Johnson from fourth to fifth in the Sprint Cup driver point standings after the ninth event of the 36-race schedule.
As for the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports family, Casey Mears tied his season-high finish by crossing the finish line seventh, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., who led 46 laps, finished 10th and Jeff Gordon was 19th.
Three of the top five finishers were Dodge competitors (Busch, Denny Hamlin, Brian Vickers), while Mears was the highest-finishing Chevrolet.
Jeff Burton continues to hold the Sprint Cup points lead followed by race-winner Busch, Earnhardt, Denny Hamlin and Johnson.
The next stop on the schedule will be Richmond International Raceway (RIR), where the series will race under the lights Saturday, May 3.
Team Lowe's Racing won both Cup events at RIR in 2007.
TOP 10 FINISHERS AT TALLADEGA
1. Kyle Busch
2. Juan Pablo Montoya
3. Denny Hamlin
4. David Ragan
5. Brian Vickers
6. Travis Kvapil
7. Casey Mears
8. Ryan Newman
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS' FINISHING POSITIONS
7. Casey Mears
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13. Jimmie Johnson
19. Jeff Gordon
TOP 12 IN POINTS AFTER TALLADEGA
1. Jeff Burton
2. Kyle Busch -22
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -79
4. Denny Hamlin -99
5. Jimmie Johnson -102
6. Kevin Harvick -139
7. Clint Bowyer -165
8. Greg Biffle -199
9. Tony Stewart -210
10. Carl Edwards -263
11. Ryan Newman -285
12. Juan Pablo Montoya -318
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS' POINTS POSITIONS
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -79
5. Jimmie Johnson -102
14. Jeff Gordon -329 (11 out of 12th)
24. Casey Mears -460
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Richmond International Raceway
Friday, May 2
Sprint Cup happy hour, 11 a.m. ET (broadcast at 1:30 p.m. ET on SPEED)
Sprint Cup qualifying, 5:30 p.m. ET on SPEED
Saturday, May 3
Sprint Cup pre-race, 7 p.m. ET on FOX
Sprint Cup Series race, 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX
