Jimmie Johnson was able to make the high groove work on a late-race restart. Credit: Autostock

How to win a million bucks, the hard way

Johnson's pass of Harvick on restart was key to Challenge victory

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson moved to the outside of leader Kevin Harvick on the first lap of the final 20-lap segment of Saturday night's Nextel All-Star Challenge.

Nextel All-Star Challenge Unofficial Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 2. Kevin Harvick Chevy 3. Jeff Gordon Chevy 4. Carl Edwards Ford 5. Ryan Newman Dodge 6. Bobby Labonte Dodge 7. Dale Jarrett Ford 8. Kyle Petty Dodge 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 10. Scott Riggs Dodge • Complete results, click here Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates his All-Star Challenge win Final lapsJimmie Johnson holds off the field down the stretch Segment twoMichael Waltrip spins and slams the wall in segment two Multi-car wreckKahne and Martin slam each other and take out multiple cars Wreck reactionDrivers review the seven-car pile-up in the second segment In the wallTony Stewart and Matt Kenseth tangle in the final segment Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

He stayed there for the rest of the lap until caution came out for a crash between Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth fighting for third place.

That, as well as survival, helped Johnson win the no-holds-barred race that ran into Sunday morning after several rain delays and countless wrecks which left only nine of 20 cars on the lead lap and 10 on the track at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"I couldn't have made that move,'' said Jeff Gordon, who finished third behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. "When he battled [Harvick] on the outside and fought that hard to stay with him, that won the race.

"I couldn't see enough what going on with [Harvick]. I just saw Jimmie standing on the outside. I didn't think he'd be able to do that for very long, and then the caution came on. I was pretty impressed with that fight. My car was just out of control on the outside.''

Johnson came out of that final caution with the lead and held it the rest of the way, pulling away from Harvick to win the $1 million prize for the second time since 2003.

The move aside, Johnson also played a good game of survival in what Stewart dubbed the "Nextel All-Star crash fest.''

He survived the biggest wreck, a seven-car pileup on the ninth lap of the second segment, coming through the melee in fourth place.

Johnson also survived a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road on lap 18 of the first segment that left him at the rear of the lead lap.

"When I was on the lead lap after the pass-through, I knew I had a shot,'' Johnson said.

But it was Johnson's ability to maneuver the outside groove on the hard tires that gave many fits on the newly-paved surface that put him back in Victory Lane at a track where he's won four straight Coca-Cola 600s.

Harvick conceded that.

"I knew going into Turn 1, I needed to keep him on the inside to give myself a chance,'' he said.

He couldn't.

From there it was just a matter of how much Johnson would win by on the track named after the primary sponsor of his No. 48 Chevrolet.

"I knew I was going to have to get a really good restart to stay with and pass Kevin,'' Johnson said. "For a minute there, I thought he made the move of the race.

"I put together some good runs on the outside and finally got by him. The caution came out and from there I had control of the race.''

Johnson said changing four tires instead of two as Harvick did between the second and third segments was key in helping him make his final pass.

"I really felt that was my chance to get the lead because Kevin was so strong the run before,'' Johnson said. "In my mind, I said if you don't make a big mistake and fall back to fifth it's worth the risk.

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"I got up there and was really surprised I had as much grip as I did. To me, that's really encouraging for racing the 600.''

Even more encouraging, crew chief Chad Knaus said Johnson will return next weekend with a better car.

"He's going to really need to convince me otherwise,'' Johnson said. "This one is pretty good.''

Johnson seemingly is always good at LMS, particularly under the lights -- regardless of the surface or the tire.

"Once the sun goes down and we get grip in the race track, we end up working our way to the front,'' the points leader said.

And for the record, he's not feeling guilty about hogging Victory Lane.

"Hell, no,'' Johnson said. "As long as [the track] has Lowe's on it, there's going to be extra motivation here.''