Johnson earns second Winston Cup victory

DOVER, Del. -- Rookie Jimmie Johnson expunged the memories of three straight frustrating races Sunday when he won the MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Johnson, 26, the latest phenomenon to hit the Winston Cup Series following the last two rookies of the year, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, overpowered veteran Ricky Rudd for the lead on lap 363.

Bill Elliott came up just short of catching Johnson in the final laps. Credit: Autostock

When the seventh caution flew at lap 373, Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet was the only lead lap car that did not pit. When the race restarted with 22 laps to go, he jumped to a lead of nearly two seconds over Rudd's No. 28 Havoline Ford before a loosening wheel sent Rudd to the pits.

Johnson held off a fast closing Bill Elliott's No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Intrepid for a .478-second win, his second of the season to go with three Bud Pole Awards. He became only the second rookie winner in Dover's 65-race history and the first since the late Davey Allison in spring 1987.

"Track position was everything (but) I knew we'd be good," Johnson said. "I didn't realize the No. 9 was coming that hard and I had to step it back up to stay up there."

The native of El Cajon, Calif., had a potential winning car two points races ago at Richmond and appeared to have the best car at The Winston and last weekend's Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

A driver error at Richmond that caused him to tangle with Jimmy Spencer and spin, becoming a victim of The Winston's inversion format and then his own two pit road errors in the 600 caused Johnson a lot of agony.

Sunday, there was no denying him as he led four times for a total of 188 of the 400 laps. His 10th-place starting position proved he was quick but he showed a veteran's savvy in the race.

Steve Park and Ryan Newman tangled on lap 124. Credit: Autostock

"Qualifying here, you’re on the edge of your seat," Johnson said. "Race-wise, the car can't take a beating like that all day long. You have to slow down and be nice to the right front (tire) and take your time. I just picked a good pace and the car stayed underneath me all day long -- they gave me a great car."

"I was doing everything I could there at the end to get to the 48," Elliott said. "I just ran out of time."

The race was a remarkable turnaround for Elliott, who finished 40th and 30th in two 2001 races.

"I think we've found everything we need in the race team," Elliott said. "I feel real comfortable with all the guys that put this race car together -- they do a heck of a job. We've come a long way in the last two weeks."

Jeff Burton's No. 99 CITGO Racing Ford, Ryan Newman's No. 12 ALLTEL Ford and Dale Jarrett's No. 88 UPS Ford rounded out the top-five.

Burton's finish was his second top-five in the last three races and kept him 11th in points. He was the best of four Roush cars in the race, but he remains the lowest of the quartet in the standings.

"We've been disappointed with our season," Burton said. "We've been the worst performing Roush car and thank God the Roush cars are performing well. We just haven't done the things we need to do. I feel like we're headed in the right direction (and) I'm really much more confident about where we're headed than I have been."

Defending MBNA 400 winner Jeff Gordon, Ricky Craven, Robby Gordon, Bobby Hamilton and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top-10. Rudd, who led 84 laps, fell to 19th, the second car one lap down.

Matt Kenseth cut a tire, hit the wall and finished 40th at Dover.

Sterling Marlin took advantage of the misfortune of Bud Pole winner Matt Kenseth to expand his lead in the Winston Cup standings to 137 over Johnson, who unofficially jumped up three spots from fifth.

Kenseth had to start 39th after his team changed an engine Saturday. He had driven up through the field and was running 15th when he blew out a right front tire on lap 215 and hit the Turn 3 wall. He was running 104 laps behind Johnson at the end and finished 40th.

"I'm surprised it blew when I was so incredibly loose," Kenseth said. "I don't know how I could have had the car much looser. Those last couple of laps I moved up to the top to see if we could make some speed because we were at a big deficit all day."