Johnson Crashes the Party

Originally written for CLNS Radio.
 

Jimmie Johnson dominated the Party in the Poconos 400 on Sunday afternoon, leading 129 of 160 laps on his way to his third win of the season.

Nick Laham/Getty Images

Johnson's dominance started as soon as the green flag fell.  He started on pole after qualifying was rained out on Friday and the starting order was set by points.  Johnson quickly jumped out to the lead, and he only ever lost the lead during pit stops.

Johnson was flawless all day, beating everyone on the restarts with the race on the line.  Johnson said that while he had a great racecar, his engine was also very good.

"That's the best car I've had in a long time," Johnson told TNT.  "Not just a good racecar, but a good engine.  It's been a long time since I've won here, and I'm excited to do it."

Last week, Johnson lost the race after a questionable penalty on the final restart.  While it didn't make up for last week's frustration, Johnson said that it helped them move on.

"It doesn't make up for much, but we're a great race team and things don't keep us down," Johnson said.

The race started with long green flag runs, with the first caution not coming until lap 66.  The next caution fell on lap 125, and that kicked off a group of cautions that helped drivers save enough fuel to make it to the finish.

The final restart came with five laps to go, and Greg Biffle tried to get the lead away from Johnson, but Johnson drove away from Biffle's No. 16 car.  Biffle knew that he probably couldn't have done anything to get the lead.

"I really didn't have anything for Jimmie," Biffle said.  "I just wanted to get to his bumper and rough him up.  Jimmie was in a league of his own."

Biffle wound up finishing second, holding off a charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr., who ran up front all day.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Jimmie Johnson                                                                                   

2. Greg Biffle

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4. Tony Stewart

5. Ryan Newman

6. Kyle Busch

7. Kurt Busch

8. Denny Hamlin

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Joey Logano

11. Jeff Burton

12. Jeff Gordon

13. Jamie McMurray

14. Juan Pablo Montoya

15. Clint Bowyer

16. Brad Keselowski

17. Marcos Ambrose

18. Carl Edwards

19. Mark Martin

20. Travis Kvapil

21. Aric Almirola

22. Casey Mears

23. Martin Truex Jr.

24. David Gilliland

25. Matt Kenseth

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

27. Bobby Labonte

28. David Stremme

29. Danica Patrick

30. Paul Menard

31. Dave Blaney

32. David Reutimann

33. AJ Allmendinger

34. Josh Wise

35. Timmy Hill

36. Kasey Kahne

37. David Ragan

38. Landon Cassill

39. J.J. Yeley

40. Michael McDowell

41. Scott Riggs

42. Joe Nemechek

43. Jason Leffler

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the first of two races there this season.  The Quicken Loans 400 can be seen next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, only on TNT.