Jimmie Johnson grabbed his third race win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a speeding penalty to Juan Pablo Montoya blew Allstate 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series event wide open.
Former Formula One driver Montoya was left fuming after being flagged for speeding heading into pit lane for a routine stop with 35 laps remaining of the 116-lap race.
The Colombian had a five-second lead at the time but the penalty gave Johnson the chance to grab an unlikely win. The Sydney Morning Herald
Johnson moved past ninth-place finisher Jeff Gordon, who trails Stewart by 207 points. Greg Biffle came home fourth, followed by Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann. Matt Kenseth ran 10th to hold the 12th and final Chase-eligible position in the standings by 68 points over Reutimann.
“Clean air was everything,” said Johnson, who won his third race of the year and the 43rd of his career. “You could only get so close to the car in front of you. ... I got that restart and put on a great show for the fans. I hope they enjoyed it.”
Over the final green-flag run, Martin said he drove his car as hard as he could without wrecking it.
“I drove my heart out and gave it everything I had,” he said. “I’m just thankful that I had a chance to race for the win. I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but I got beat by Superman.” NASCAR
Juan Pablo Montoya was too fast for anyone on the track to catch.
Between the second and third sensors, NASCAR said, Montoya drove 60.06 mph. Between the fourth and fifth, he was clocked at 60.11 mph. NASCAR issued a speeding penalty and Montoya’s magical run ended.
“Thank you, NASCAR, for screwing my day,” Montoya said over his radio.
The man who led 116 laps of the 160-lap race finished the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard 11th in his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson won the race—for the second straight year and third time in the last four—Mark Martin finished second and Tony Stewart finished third.
“If I or my teammates couldn’t have won this race, I was absolutely pulling for Juan,” Stewart said. “They sure had the car today.” Los Angeles Times
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