Jimmie Johnson called his shot.
For months, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion has been saying the addition of Auto Club Speedway to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was a gift to his No. 48 team.
In Sunday’s Pepsi 500, Johnson proved it—and grabbed the points lead from Mark Martin in the process. Johnson’s win also left runner-up Jeff Gordon conceding that his Hendrick Motorsports teammate is in a class by himself. NASCAR
Johnson took a 12-point lead over fourth-place finisher Mark Martin with six races remaining in the Chase.
“Awesome, it’s what we want,” Johnson said after claiming the points lead for the first time this season.
Johnson overcame a lug nut issue during an early-race pit stop to lead 126 of 250 laps.
Juan Pablo Montoya came in third after leading 78 laps earlier in the race. He is now 58 points behind the lead. MiamiHerald.com
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 3 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 4 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 5 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 6 99 Carl Edwards Ford 7 6 David Ragan Ford 8 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 9 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 11 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet 12 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 13 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 14 20 Joey Logano * Toyota 15 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 16 12 David Stremme Dodge 17 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 18 0 David Reutimann Toyota 19 34 John Andretti Chevrolet 20 16 Greg Biffle Ford 21 82 Scott Speed * Toyota 22 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 23 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 24 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 26 96 Bobby Labonte Ford 27 98 Paul Menard Ford 28 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 29 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 30 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 31 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge 32 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 33 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 34 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 35 113 Max Papis * Toyota 36 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 37 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 38 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 39 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota 40 36 Michael McDowell Toyota 41 66 Dave Blaney Toyota 42 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet 43 9 Mike Bliss Dodge
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