Jimmie Johnson passed Tony Stewart with three laps to go Sunday to win the Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Johnson, defending NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion, chased Stewart down and passed him after a restart with less than 15 laps remaining.
Stewart drove the wheels off his Home Depot Chevrolet, slapping the outside retaining wall in the waning laps with Johnson nipping at his heels. The brush with the wall forced Stewart to back off a little and Johnson drove away down the stretch.
Johnson’s win was his second this season. He won at Las Vegas last week.
Trailing Johnson and Stewart were former champion Matt Kenseth, resurgent Jeff Burton and the amazing Juan Pablo Montoya.
This was Montoya’s first time at the Atlanta track and he kept his car in contention throughout the brisk, sunny, Sunday afternoon.
Montoya, too, grazed the outside retaining all a few laps from the finish. His fifth-place position was his best since joining the NASCAR circuit this year.
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