Jimmie Johnson takes the checkered flag moments after winning Saturday night's UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Credit: Autostock

Johnson overcomes adversity for win No. 4

CONCORD, N.C. -- The alternator failed, the battery had to be switched mid-race and the entire electrical system was on the fritz. Add all that to a constant fear of having a tire explode at any second and even the most veteran driver would be rattled.

Not Jimmie Johnson, and not at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson celebrates another win at Lowe's Credit: Autostock

UAW-GM Quality 500 Unofficial Results Pos. Driver Pts/Bonus 1. J. Johnson 185/5 2. Ku. Busch 175/5 3. G. Biffle 170/5 4. J. Nemechek 165/5 5. M. Martin 155/0 • Complete Results: click here • Unofficial Standings: click here Inside the Chase Point standings after Lowe's Pos. Driver Points Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,777 -- 2. J. Johnson 5,777 -- 3. G. Biffle 5,766 -11 4. R. Newman 5,760 -17 5. M. Martin 5,726 -51 6. C. Edwards 5,723 -54 7. R. Wallace 5,685 -92 8. J. Mayfield 5,662 -115 9. M. Kenseth 5,653 -124 10. Ku. Busch 5,635 -142 Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates his fourth consecutive LMS win Final lapsJohnson battles Nemechek, Busch late for the win UAW-GM Quality 500Check out all the highlights from Charlotte Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Johnson overcame every problem thrown his way -- including the tire troubles that turned Saturday night's event into a laughingstock -- to win his fourth consecutive race at Lowe's and move into a tie with Tony Stewart in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"I don't have a clue what took place [Saturday night],'' Johnson said. "We had problem after problem. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.''

Johnson started 41st because his engine failed before qualifying. Then his alternator went mid-race. He cut a right rear tire. And then he had overtime.

In the end, he proved no one can beat him on the track his Lowe's-sponsored team considers its own private playground. Johnson has won five of the past six events at the suburban Charlotte facility.

"I can't believe that we always end up somehow toward the front at the end of a race ... this one in the closing laps after a long night of adversity,'' Johnson said. "We changed batteries, the alternator had some troubles, flat tire, all kinds of crazy things.''

He took the lead with nine laps to go and was pulling away until Rusty Wallace brought out the 15th caution of the race with one of the many, many tire problems. It forced the field to be bunched up for one final restart and Johnson held off Chase contenders Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle to lock up the victory.

It moved Johnson up three spots in the standings and into a tie with Stewart --who finished 25th after crashing while leading earlier in the race -- with five events remaining in the race for the Nextel Cup title. Biffle is third in the standings, 11 points out.

Johnson's victory was the one bright spot in a race that was marred by tire problems for 16 drivers -- including five Chase competitors -- because Goodyear's rubber could not stand up to the increased speeds on the smoothed track surface.

It forced NASCAR to issue a mid-race mandate on the minimum air pressure used on right front tires, and led inspectors to police pit road with a threat of docking points to teams who disobeyed.

"As we got deeper in the event, it was obvious this was an abnormal evening,'' NASCAR president Mike Helton said. "No one will be docked points because the teams responded.''

Stewart, Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne all blew tires while leading, and many drivers said the tire concerns left them too scared to push their cars to the limit so they instead chose to race at about 85 percent effort to prevent a possible tire failure.

"I need a renewal of my life insurance policy, to tell you the truth,'' Stewart told his crew when asked late in the race what he needed. "I just can't wait for this thing to be over so I can get out of here and hopefully not be hurt.''

His displeasure was evident by the scowl on his face after the race.

"It was just one of those screwed-up nights that's probably going to dictate the way the Chase comes out,'' Stewart said. "It doesn't matter what happened. It's over with. We're stuck with it the way it is.

Tire troubles forced Tony Stewart's car into the wall. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

"It just sucks when you're the fastest car and something that's out your control happens like that that really shouldn't happen.''

Helton acknowledged the race was a disaster.

"I think everybody that was part of the evening would like to figure out how not to have another evening like this one,'' Helton said. "It was extremely undesirable ... I think there will be a lot of digestion of this one when we get the opportunity.''

The smooth track surface was a concern all weekend because of the dizzying speeds created after track president Humpy Wheeler twice grinded out its trademark bumps.

Friday night's Busch race gave teams a preview of what to expect when Goodyear's tires struggled to hold over long runs and the race was marred by a record 14-cautions.

It had drivers on edge before the Cup event even started.

"If somebody gets hurt, then whoever made the call to change the racetrack needs to feel a little bit responsible,'' said Jeremy Mayfield, who wrecked in the Busch race.

"We're going way too fast here, it's not right.''

NASCAR had a scheduled "competition caution'' 30 laps into the race to give teams a chance to inspect their tires and assess how well the rubber was holding. Ryan Newman didn't even make it that far, with his right front tire blowing while he was running in second place.

The tire failure didn't cause him to wreck, but put him two laps down very early and forced him to battle back for a seventh-place finish. Newman came into the race second in the standings but dropped to fourth -- only 17 points back.

Newman's problem was the first sign that the tires would be troublesome all night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s exploded with no warning and sent him crashing hard into the wall.

"It just went 'BAM!' and then I hit the wall,'' he said.

Moments later, championship contender Matt Kenseth's right front failed, and the eruption tore the entire front panel off his Ford. He needed several stops on pit road to fix it and fell 11 laps down.

That's when Biffle realized just how perilous the situation was for the drivers: "Guys, we're not racing to win here. We're racing for a finish, whatever we can do to survive,'' he radioed to his crew.

As more and more tires popped -- leading Kevin Harvick to call the problems "the biggest joke in racing I've ever seen'' after losing his right front -- NASCAR again called a competition caution and made the air pressure mandate.