Johnson Dominates Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson came into Martinsville needing to dominate the race and put pressure on Brad Keselowski.  Johnson came into Martinsville and dominated the race, leading laps en route to his fourth race of the season. 

Johnson celebrates another Martinsville win (John Harrelson/Getty Images)

Jimmie Johnson won the pole for the TUMS Fast Relief 500, and he led the field to the green flag.  Johnson was able to jump down in front of Brian Vickers heading into Turn 1 for the lead.  Vickers was driving the No. 55 car, which qualified second for the third race in a row.  Jeff Gordon had one of the best cars early, and, by lap 33, he was able to get past Vickers for second place.  But no one could catch Johnson, who was the leader when the first caution of the race came out on lap 45 for David Stremme, who blew a right front tire.  The leaders made their first stops of the day, and Johnson was able to beat Gordon off of pit road.  Denny Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road, and was forced to restart back in 32nd.

The race restarted on lap 52, and Johnson restarted on the bottom and he was able to beat Gordon out of Turn 2.  On lap 68, Gordon was able to take the lead away from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.  The caution came out on lap 97 for David Gilliland, who blew a right front tire.  The leaders pitted, and Johnson led Kyle Busch and Gordon off pit road.

The race restarted on lap 104, and Johnson and Busch raced side-by-side for the first lap before Johnson was able to clear the 18.  Gordon was able to drive under Johnson on lap 107 to retake the lead.  Johnson got stuck on the outside, and dropped back to fourth.  On lap 115, Vickers was able to drive under Busch for second place.  On lap 128, Travis Kvapil spun in Turn 2, bringing out another caution.  Gordon, Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. stayed out while the rest of the field made pit stops.

The race restarted on lap 137, and Gordon was able to clear Busch for the lead.  Vickers was able to get around Gordon for the lead on lap 148.  On lap 149, Busch spun in Turn 4, bringing out the fourth caution of the race.  The leaders hit pit road, and Vickers was able to retain the lead, and he led the field back to the green on lap 156. 

Vickers leads Hamlin and Gordon (Tyler Barrick/Getty Images)

Vickers had a tight race for the lead with Johnson and Hamlin, but Hamlin was able to get the lead on lap 165, and Johnson followed him through for second place.  On lap 172, Johnson was able to get around Hamlin for the lead.  On lap 182, Clint Bowyer gave Johnson the bump and run to take the top spot.

Marcos Ambrose spun in Turn 2 on lap 199, to bring out the fifth caution of the race.  The leaders came in to make their pit stops, and Johnson beat Gordon and Bowyer off pit road.  Hamlin was once again caught for speeding, and had to restart 24th.  The race restarted on lap 205, and Johnson restarted as the leader on the inside.  Gordon was able to work his way around on the outside to take the lead.  The caution came out again on lap 212, this time for a spin involving Kvapil and Ambrose. 

Gordon led the field back to the green flag on lap 219, and he was able to get ahead of Johnson for the lead.  On lap 226, Bowyer was able to get around Gordon for the lead.  Kurt Busch spun after contact from Kevin Harvick, bringing out another caution on lap 228.  Bowyer led the field back to the green flag, and Johnson restarted on the high side and stayed alongside Bowyer for over a lap, but Bowyer was able to stay ahead of the 48.

Keselowski makes a pit stop (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Kevin Harvick pulled off the track on lap 336 to make a green flag pit stop.  Gordon came in on lap 337 for fuel.  Bowyer pulled off to pit on lap 350 to make his pit stop.  Hamlin became the leader when Bowyer made his stop, and Hamlin gave up the lead on lap 356 to make his pit stop.  Keselowski made his pit stop on lap 358, and his team said that he would be able to make it all the way to the end of the race without having to stop again.  On lap 364, Vickers gave up the lead to make his pit stop, and Kasey Kahne was the leader when stops had cycled around.

On lap 371, Hamlin slowed considerably on the backstretch, and he radioed in that his batteries were dying.  Clint Bowyer was able to get around Kahne for the lead.  Hamlin continued to stall his car out as his car lost and regained power, but finally he slowed to stop on the frontstretch, bringing out the caution on lap 391.  The leaders came in to pit, and Johnson beat Bowyer off pit road. 

Hamlin's car is pushed by the wrecker after losing power on the frontstretch (Jared Tilton/Getty Images)

Johnson led the field back to the green on lap 400, and he was able to clear Bowyer coming out of Turn 2.  On lap 422, Kevin Harvick radioed in to his crew that his engine was blowing up, but he was able to continue on.  Denny Hamlin came back onto the track on lap 423 after diagnosing the problem with a faulty master ignition switch.  On lap 438, Juan Pablo Montoya spun after contact from Johnson, bringing out the caution.

The race restarted on lap 445, and Johnson was able to get ahead of Gordon to get the lead.  On lap 475, Harvick's engine finally let go, bringing out the caution.  Most of the field came in to make pit stops, while Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed out. 

Keselowski led the field back to the green flag on lap 481, followed by Earnhardt, Johnson, and Gordon.  Keselowski was able to get ahead of Earnhardt, but Johnson was able to get around him for second.  Johnson quickly began working on the bumper of Keselowski.  With 14 laps to go, Johnson was able to get around Keselowski for the lead, and Keselowski was soon shuffled back to fifth.  The caution came out on lap 490, when Sam Hornish Jr. dove into the corner, getting into the back of Carl Edwards, who spun into Earnhardt. 

Johnson led the field back to the green flag on lap 495, and he was able to get in front of Busch to take the lead.  Busch got close over the final five laps, but he couldn't get close enough to use his bumper.  Johnson would pull away to win his seventh race at Martinsville.

Kyle Busch finished second, and Kasey Kahne finished third.  Aric Almirola had a strong run, and finished fourth.  Clint Bowyer finished fifth, and was followed by Brad Keselowski, who had a strong outing at Martinsville.  Jeff Gordon finished seventh.  Brian Vickers, in his final race of the season, finished eighth.  Bobby Labonte got a rare Top 10, and finished ninth.  Greg Biffle rounded out the Top 10  Matt Kenseth finished 15th, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 21st in his first race back from a concussion.  Martin Truex Jr. finished 23rd, one lap down.  Tony Stewart finished 27th, the first car two laps down.  Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively.

Brad Keselowski lost the points lead, and is now two points behind Jimmie Johnson.  Here are the unofficial points, courtesy of NASCAR.com:

Everyone knew that Jimmie Johnson would be strong at Martinsville, and he was.  He dominated in his win, and is now the points leader for the first time in the Chase.  But Brad Keselowski surprised everyone again, and was able to get a Top 10.  Next week, the Sprint Cup Series rolls into Texas for the AAA Texas 500.  The race can be seen next Sunday at 2 p.m., only on ESPN.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images