Jimmie Johnson expanded his points lead to 160 with another top-10 finish. Credit: Autostock

Johnson perseveres with 12th consecutive top-10

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- There's a reason Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top 10 in 12 consecutive races dating to October. It's called perseverance.

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS 500 •   Results •   Standings •   Harvick hampered by clutch troubles •   Johnson perseveres with 12th consecutive top-10 •   Evernham shows flashes in Kahne, Mayfield runs •   Rudd relishes first top-10 in six races •   Frustration mounts at Joe Gibbs Racing •   Notes: Edwards' season takes hit on short tracks

On Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson drove the wheels off his Lowe's Chevrolet just to get to the top 10, then raced just as hard to stay there, finally finishing eighth. At the same time, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon came back from three laps down to win again on the flat .526-mile oval.

"Overall, it was a very good day," a sweat-soaked Johnson said upon exiting his car. "It started off to be very frustrating, but [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] made huge, huge changes to the car and we got it to where it would finally turn. It was so tight. We got that sorted out, got back on the lead lap and things were good from there."

The problems for Johnson weren't just on Sunday. He qualified 37th, nearly a half-second slower than pole-sitter Scott Riggs (whose team uses Hendrick engines), and he spent much of the first half of the race trying to stay on the lead lap. He did go a lap down three times during the day, but used the free pass and pit strategy to get back in the mix. In fact, he didn't show up on the lead lap until around Lap 350.

Final lapsGordon comes back from three laps down for the victory Tough breakStewart loses a tire and his chance for a win Spin cycleGordon bumps Busch and sends him into the wall Tire troublesDale Jr. touches Bliss and gets a severe tire rub Heavy damageEdwards gets loose and collects H. Sadler on Lap 68 Early cautionNewman suffers damage after contact with Riggs Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

"We didn't have the car right until about three quarters of the way through the race, and then we had a top-10 car," Johnson said. "I can't be more proud of my crew guys than I am [Sunday]. Every stop, it was six rounds on the track bar, six rounds of wedge, just huge, huge changes. They brought the car to life and we got a good finish."

Despite the fact that he didn't win or finish in the top five, it was a good points day for Johnson. He now leads second-place Greg Biffle by 160 points, a 64-point gain from a week ago.

"Lots of little wins, that's what a championship is about," Johnson said with a tiny grin. "[Sunday], although this probably doesn't matter much in the big picture, it's not in the final 10 races, but still it's a good thing for the team to battle through."

There's another, deeper reason for Johnson to feel good about his performance. Last October, Johnson won the race but did not get to celebrate it because of the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of John and Ricky Hendrick, Randy Dorton, Jeff Turner and six others.

The fact that his teammate and mentor won Sunday, and that he was able to battle back from adversity to finish eighth, is powerful for the entire Hendrick organization.

"When I won here in the fall, for obvious reasons I didn't get to go to Victory Lane," he said. "For a Hendrick car to go to Victory Lane here [Sunday] is an awful special thing."