DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson went from running away from the field to running down Tony Stewart.Johnson nipped at Stewart's bumper, went nose-to-nose, then soared past him on an outside pass on the concrete track.
One Cup champion outdueling another in the battle for the checkered flag.
Johnson thrashed the field, then rebounded from a late pit stop that dropped him back into traffic to catch Stewart with two laps left in a thrilling finish in the Sprint Cup series race Sunday at Dover International Speedway.
"We just couldn't hold off Jimmie," Stewart said. "He was like a freight train coming."
Johnson had one of the more dominant performances of his career, taking control early on the concrete to lead a career-high 298 laps. That seemed to be enough for the three-time defending Cup champion to cruise into Victory Lane until a botched pit stop on a four-tire change with 36 laps left knocked Johnson from the lead.
Johnson was far from sunk.
"It was a small hiccup," Johnson said.
One by one, Johnson methodically picked off the drivers in front of him. He charged past Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch until only Greg Biffle and Stewart were ahead of the No. 48 Chevrolet with 10 laps left. Johnson passed Biffle and that set up the frantic finish that rivaled Talladega for the most dramatic end so far this season.
"I don't know how it gets much more exciting than that," Stewart said.
Johnson knew Stewart was his once Biffle, who won a Chase race at Dover last year, was out of the way.
"That allowed me enough time to set Tony up and really work on that last little bit to find my line and perfect it and get by Tony," Johnson said.
Johnson won for the second time this season and the fourth time in a Cup race at Dover. He has 42 career Cup victories.
"I just had to go," Johnson said. "I had one heck of a race with Tony. That's how racing's supposed to be done."
Stewart was second, followed by Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in his first race with crew chief Lance McGrew.
"We've got to do this a lot," Earnhardt said. "I don't want to give ourselves any credit yet until we can perform at this level more consistently but I'm really proud of my guys today."
Earnhardt posted his best finish since Talladega in his first race without longtime crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Hendrick Motorsports made the decision to give McGrew a shot at calling the race a week earlier than expected. Earnhardt ran in the top 10 for a portion of the first half of the race, and has to hope this kind of finish can start to turn his season around.
"One of the things I liked about Lance is I felt like I was in the pit box with him all day, and I felt like he was riding with me all day," Earnhardt said. "That was a good feeling. Hopefully we can keep that up."
Stewart passed Jeff Gordon for the Cup points lead and became the first owner/driver to sit atop the standings since Alan Kulwicki won the Cup title in 1992.
"That stat there is pretty cool to be leading the points standings this early into the new venture," Stewart said.
Gordon ran two laps down in his backup car most of the race and finished 26th to fall 46 points behind Stewart.
Stewart won the All-Star race, but has yet to record a points victory since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of last year, after two championships and 10 successful seasons, to become co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.
Johnson appeared to have the race under control and was never really challenged for most of the 400-mile race. When he came in for a four-tire pit stop with 36 laps, a faulty exchange by his crew slowed him down and dropped him back into traffic in ninth place.
Johnson took the lead for the first time on the 49th lap and twice held the lead for 67 laps. He thumped the rest of the field about as soundly as any driver had in a race this season.
"As far as us peaking or starting to win races too soon, you can never win races too soon," crew chief Chad Knaus said.
Hendrick driver Mark Martin was 10th.
"As dominant as Jimmie was, it looked like the rest of our drivers were driving for second," team owner Rick Hendrick said.
Johnson's win put the focus at Hendrick back on winning races instead of the Earnhardt crew chief switch. Johnson said his team supported Earnhardt, but the bottom line for the 48 team was winning races, not fretting about another crew.
"Once we get into the motions of the weekend, we're just really worried about the setup of our car and our strategy," he said.
It all paid off because there was no need for Johnson and crew to worry at the end.
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Latest NASCAR Images
DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kasey Kahne
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Aflac Ford, makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Carl Edwards
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief for the #17 Dewalt Ford driven by Matt Kenseth, looks on during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Drew Blickensderfer
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Gordon
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 DeWalt Ford, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Kenseth
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, races with Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 U.S Army Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Tony Stewart;Ryan Newman
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Marcos Ambrose, driver of the #47 RaceSavers.com Toyota, races with Joey Logano, driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Marcos Ambrose;Joey Logano
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, lead the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dale Earnhardt Jr.;Jeff Gordon
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DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, races Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, side by side during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Tony Stewart;Kyle Busch
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Comments (Page 1 of 2)
YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!! Any of you "haters" and doubters about what a great driver my main man Jimmie is, can please just shut up, now! If today's comeback doesn't prove to you all that Jimmie is one hell of a talented driver, and a clean one at that, then you just simply have a bad attitude that boils down to plain jealousy!
Hat's off to Stewart and Biffle, too! They put on a great show, raced nice and clean, and congratulated Jimmie after the race, both with very classy comments about their fellow driver.
This is the kind or racing I like to see. Two extremely talented drivers (Stewart & Johnson), dueling it out in the last few laps. As Stewart said, "The fastest car won today."
Congratulations to Jimmie & Chad for once again proving to me why I am their number one fan!
Kim
i could not agree more jimmie johnson is first class all of the way, anybody who "hates" on him has some kind of mental problem or something...it's drivers like jimmie that make nascar worth watching every week, maybe he can give dale jr. driving leasons and kyle busch some how to behave leasons.....
Win For Me Earnhardt
Calm down Kim.....it is just a race>
Kyle is resting today........cough cough
Greg
jj is a bad man and kyle is a low class creep
loads of empty seats in Dover? ruh roh..
JG,
You looked so pathetic out there, it looked fake!! I was watching your speed on 'Raceview' and during the middle of the race after 200 laps, you were averaging around 140mph! You should have been black flagged! Extremely embarrassing! I'm speechless & disappointed in your performance & with your 'so called' crew chief 'wanna be' Steve LeTarte! What a Joke of a performance....You guys can't win a championship title with this kind of performance at this point of the season. I'm sure Ray Evernham would like to get back to work! Not only am I embarrassed as a huge supporter, but extremely pissed!!!
Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are amazing. It is awesome to see what they are capable off. They are unflappable. Nothing gets them rattled and it shows on the track. I was glad to see Junior have a solid run with his crew change up. Junior has the heart and talent of a champion. I know he has it in him to shine!
Where is the coverage on the open wheel race at Milwaukee? Even the Indy 500 is long forgotten.
If not for Danica Patrick, would there be Indy-type racing, or, what I believe is called the IRL?
NASCAR is doing just fine, especially now that Kyle and Junior are not exactly buddies. It injects a little more interest in the sport, which I seriously enjoy.
NASCAR is 'NOT' doing fine my friend! Fox should seriously take a long hard look at considering replacing the current 'blah,blah,blah' 'Waltrip Gang' & get 'NEW' young fresh faces to do the NASCAR commentary ASAP! NASCAR needs to remove Brian France & the 'WWE, style of show' ASAP! Until then, things will continue to stay flat for NASCAR & the TV ratings...
YEAAH RRIGHTT HALFBAKED ???
THAT'S WHY THEY BOTH HAVE BEEN TEACHING AND SHOWING
YOUR DRIVER HOW TO WIN RACES AND CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!!.
And the fun part is BUSH DRIVES IN A TOYOTA.
I talked to many people yesterday at the race. Almost all of them said the 2 drivers they disliked the most was the 2 BUSCH Brothers. I walked by the 48 trailer there was no one in line. The 2 most crowded trailers were Mark "the kid" Martin & Dale Jr. And Kyle Busch sucks
HEY DUDUDU 24? It is not for nothing tat every since i been calling for the ousting of TONY FURY, i been also calling for STEVE LETARGO to GET THE BOOT!. PATIENCE DADODUDIDE JEFF was doing great until last couple races; if it continues sooner or later
JIMMY HENDRICKS WILL BOOT OUT STEVE LETARGY TOO.
works for me...
mbsenlick:
Well, the next time you walk by my main man Jimmie's trailer, please feel free to keep on walking! And while you are at it, shove your opinions back where the sun don't shine, too!
Jimmie has plenty of fans. The difference between his fans and fans like you is that Jimmie's fans have class! We don't need to buy an article of Jimmie's for sale at each race to prove our worth or dedication to our driver.
BTW, mbsenlick....do you ever have anything nice to say or offer on these blog pages about any driver? Nope, just drive by bullshit! Take your crap and spew it elsewhere.
Man ignorant unhappy people really piss me off!!!! You have nothing better to do than to come on here and every other site you can offend as well, and say nasty things. I am sad for you! You obviously never learned if you have nothing nice to say than SHUT UP! That goes for you, too Halfwit and Hilaryshaves. Your comments are getting so stale, I think you need to come up with some new material. But then again, neither of you two bird brains can come up with an original thought, not even if a bird flew down from heaven and crapped right on your heads with one!
Kim
KIM, I THINK YOU ARE MISSING THE FACT :the poster is
IMBECILICK. IMBECILICK === A FIBBLEMINDED PERSON
according to webster dict.
OH, and i know that halfwit is aka HALFBAKED.
BUT who is HILARYSHAVES?? Is it OSAMADOPED or not?
lol. lmao. works for me..
Congrats to Jimmie and Chad. No doubt the best of the best.
I don't get it Kim , what did Mbsenlick say or do that has you so wound up?
Almost forgot, congrats JJ and Chad, they made the right call at the end putting on 4 new tires while the others opted for 2.
Hey Ron, do me a favor and email me with your address, thanks Brad
Kim,
Now I am going to act like a father to you... Do not use cuss words because kids may come on here and everyone has a favorite driver. I know you like Johnson but NOT everyone likes him like you do. You see Kim, people say mean/negative just to get all excited to come back on the forum and get some kind of ruse for stirring people up. These kind of people take things too seriously, IT IS JUST A RACE! Whoops looks like JJ Toyota/Honda business in Chula Vista CA is Booming. Enjoy your day and Jimmy is an alright driver...laughing.
I am coming home to WV next week and in need of larger clothes because in Japan everything is too small for me. Any stores worth visiting?
Greg