Jimmie Johnson Takes First Win Of The Season at Martinsville
By Bram • Mar 29th, 2009 • Category: NASCAR, Notes, Results, Sprint Cup Series, Your Series. Your Driver.
Jimmie Johnson celebrates winning the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway (CIA Stock photo)
An aggressive pass of Denny Hamlin on Lap 485 of the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 gave Johnson the lead Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, and he pulled away to beat Hamlin by .774 seconds. The victory was Johnson’s first of the season and the 41st of his career; he now has six wins at Martinsville—five in the past six races. It was Hendrick’s 18th win at the .526-mile track.
Tony Stewart ran third, followed by polesitter and series points leader Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer. Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top 10.
Hamlin, who led a race-high 296 laps, had wrested the lead from Johnson with a bold move to the inside on a Lap 456 restart. Johnson trailed Hamlin through two short green-flag runs and two cautions before Johnson saw his opportunity seven laps after a restart on Lap 478.
Entering Turn 3 on Lap 485, Johnson nosed beneath Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin squeezed Johnson to the inside and the No. 48 Chevy bounced off the inside curb. Johnson slid up the track, and contact between the two lead cars allowed Johnson to pass for the lead.
“I don’t know how Denny (Hamlin) got inside of me on that one restart.” Johnson said. “I felt like I was a little better and sure enough he was there and he had the lane and we raced hard from there. And then trying to come back and get him, I had a little bit better car on the longer run and I was patient and set him up, set him up, got inside of him. I assume that he knew he ran me down because he didn’t come back down in Turn 1 and dump me. So he tried to put the squeeze on me and I was up on the curb and sliding; we got together and he did a hell of a job saving it. I thought I was going around too and fortunately we had enough distance where we were to the next guy to not have any trouble or lose any spots.”
Hamlin, who hasn’t won a race since his victory at Martinsville a year ago, was gracious in his assessment of Johnson’s move.
“It’s short-track racing—that’s all the fans could ask for right there,” Hamlin said. “We tried to do our best to hold him off. You fight for every inch around this racetrack, and he got the better of us today. If the roles were reversed, I’d do the same thing—and, believe me, I will if it ever comes back around.”
For more than 400 laps, it was a two-man show that didn’t involve Johnson. Gordon led 141 of the first 155 laps before Hamlin powered inside of Gordon off Turn 4 on Lap 156 and held the top spot for 187 laps until Gordon slipped past on Lap 343.
Six laps later, Hamlin regained the lead in traffic.
Quick work in the pits under caution got Johnson out first for a restart on Lap 434, and he retained the top spot until Hamlin’s dive to the inside on Lap 456—a move arranged with the help of teammate Kyle Busch, who was the first lapped car on the inside lane when the field took the green flag for the restart. Busch gave Hamlin enough room to drive to the inside of Johnson as the cars raced toward the first corner.
Notes: Six of the top eight positions went to Hendrick cars (Johnson, Gordon, Martin and Earnhardt) and Hendrick affiliates (Stewart and Newman of Stewart-Haas Racing). … The Busch brothers’ streak of three straight race wins ended with a whimper. Kurt started second but faded as the race progressed, finishing 18th. A tire problem cost Kyle two laps in the early stages, dropping him to 24th at the finish. … Gordon extended his lead in the points standings to 89 over second-place Bowyer and 132 over Kurt Busch. … Geoff Bodine won the 1984 Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville, the first Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson’s victory on Sunday was Hendrick’s 176th.
The victory kept Chevrolet on top of the 2009 NSCS Manufacturers’ Cup standings with six races in the record books.
A total of 10 of the last 13 NSCS races at Martinsville have been won by a driver from Hendrick Motorsports and the 18th win at the track for team owner Rick Hendrick.
The win is Johnson’s 41st NSCS career win, his sixth win and 14th top-10 finish at Martinsville. He now has more wins at the historic Virginia race track than any other track on the circuit. The victory jumped Johnson five positions in the standings to fourth.
Race Fast Facts
Martinsville Speedway
Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500
Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 33
Team : No. 48 - Lowe’s Chevrolet
Owner: Jeff Gordon
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus
Jimmie Johnson won the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, his 41st victory in 261 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2009. His last previous victory came at Phoenix in November 2008.
This is his sixth victory and 14th top-10 finish in 15 races at Martinsville Speedway.
Johnson now has more NASCAR Sprint Cup wins at Martinsville (six) than any other track. (He has five at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.)
Denny Hamlin (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in eight races at Martinsville Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2009.
Tony Stewart (third) posted his 12th top-10 finish in 21 races at Martinsville Speedway.
Joey Logano (32nd) was the highest finishing rookie.
Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 89 points over Clint Bowyer.
NASCAR Race Number 6
Unofficial Race Results for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 - Sunday, March 29, 2009
Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, VA - .526 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 500 Laps - 263 Miles - Purse: $5,066,999
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps Rating
1 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 500 190 5 $213,626 Running 2 42 121.6
2 8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 500 180 10 $149,000 Running 4 296 141.1
3 7 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet 500 165 $119,273 Running 117.3
4 1 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 500 165 5 $138,951 Running 4 147 126.6
5 3 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet 500 155 $94,875 Running 112.7
6 27 39 Ryan Newman U.S. Army Chevrolet 500 150 $112,554 Running 87.0
7 31 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet 500 146 $90,750 Running 98.7
8 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet 500 142 $95,725 Running 102.8
9 16 44 A J Allmendinger Charter Communications Dodge 500 138 $81,425 Running 90.4
10 28 26 Jamie McMurray IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford 500 134 $93,125 Running 84.0
11 12 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 500 130 $116,878 Running 94.3
12 15 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 500 127 $118,473 Running 80.4
13 21 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 500 124 $87,450 Running 69.4
14 24 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota 500 121 $94,773 Running 81.5
15 13 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 500 118 $122,331 Running 83.6
16 23 96 Bobby Labonte Ask.com Ford 500 120 5 $106,404 Running 1 1 68.5
17 29 43 Reed Sorenson Charter Communications Dodge 500 112 $114,701 Running 64.4
18 2 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 500 109 $91,975 Running 91.2
19 6 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 500 106 $115,473 Running 67.2
20 11 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 499 103 $99,923 Running 84.9
21 25 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 499 100 $91,175 Running 63.2
22 22 12 David Stremme Penske Dodge 499 97 $108,715 Running 66.0
23 10 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 499 94 $119,715 Running 59.2
24 4 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 498 91 $119,798 Running 77.1
25 38 98 Paul Menard Energizer / Menards Ford 498 88 $105,706 Running 48.7
26 5 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 498 85 $120,856 Running 92.6
27 26 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 498 82 $82,375 Running 59.1
28 18 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 498 79 $90,675 Running 48.2
29 20 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 498 76 $108,890 Running 61.1
30 40 36 Scott Riggs Nexxus Lighting Toyota 497 73 $72,275 Running 37.0
31 17 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Tools Dodge 497 70 $81,625 Running 48.9
32 34 20 Joey Logano # The Home Depot Toyota 496 67 $119,326 Running 46.2
33 14 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 496 64 $101,073 Running 77.9
34 32 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 496 61 $88,885 Running 45.9
35 33 34 John Andretti Taco Bell Chevrolet 496 58 $79,025 Running 29.6
36 35 71 David Gilliland capitalwindow.com Chevrolet 492 55 $70,025 Running 34.6
37 37 8 Aric Almirola Guitar Hero Chevrolet 490 52 $77,950 Running 38.6
38 42 41 Jeremy Mayfield All Sport Body Quencher Toyota 441 54 5 $69,900 Running 1 1 30.8
39 36 82 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 424 51 5 $81,923 Running 1 12 42.4
40 30 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 349 43 $88,535 Engine 40.1
41 41 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 90 40 $69,725 Brakes 28.0
42 39 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 49 42 5 $69,665 Rear Gear 1 1 33.4
43 43 64 Todd Bodine Toyota 3 34 $69,214 Engine 25.8
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 63,000 - Jimmie Johnson won the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500, his 41st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. No cars dropped to the rear.
Failed to Qualify: (4) 09, 37, 46, 75.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 48 Secs. Average Speed: 75.938 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.774 Seconds
Caution Flags: 12 for 66 laps: Laps: 22-26 (#12, 55 accident turn 3 [None]); 42-47 (Competition [55]); 71-75 (#18, 82 accident turn 4 [None]); 92-96 (#7 spun turn 2 [None]); 140-143 (#6, 7 accident turn 2 [36]); 255-264 (#82 accident turn 3 [55]); 353-358 (Debris [43]); 368-371 (#7 spun turn 4 [1]); 429-433 (#41 accident turn 4 [2]); 448-455 (#8 accident turn 3 [55]); 468-471 (#00, 1, 2, 12 accident turn 4 [42]); 474-477 (#1, 96 accident turn 1 [43]).
Lead Changes: 13 among 7 drivers: J. Gordon 1-43; D. Blaney 44; S. Speed # 45-56; J. Gordon 57-140; J. Mayfield 141; J. Gordon 142-155; D. Hamlin 156-342; J. Gordon 343-348; D. Hamlin 349-354; B. Labonte 355; D. Hamlin 356-429; J. Johnson 430-455; D. Hamlin 456-484; J. Johnson 485-500.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) J. Gordon 959;(2) C. Bowyer 870;(3) Kurt Busch 827;(4) J. Johnson 817;(5) D. Hamlin 811;(6) Kyle Busch 800;(7) T. Stewart 798;(8) C. Edwards 750;(9) K. Kahne 745;(10) K. Harvick 714;(11) D. Reutimann 710;(12) M. Kenseth 704.
Coors Light Pole Award : Not Awarded, # DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Clint Bowyer, #33
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Jimmie Johnson, #48 EA Sports Move of the Race : Jimmie Johnson, #48
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Denny Hamlin, #11 (94.34 mph, Lap 458) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Denny Hamlin, #11
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Juan Pablo Montoya, #42 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (.183 sec )
O’Reilly People, Service and Performance Award : Denny Hamlin, #11 (256.080 sec) Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Joey Logano, #20
Sunoco Diamond Performance : Jimmie Johnson, #48 Tissot Pit Road Precision Award : Jeff Gordon, #24 (233.463 sec)
WIX Lap Leader : Denny Hamlin, #11 (296 Laps)
Next Race: Apr. 5, 2009 - Texas Motor Speedway
