TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Almost every move Jimmie Johnson made at Talladega Superspeedway seemed to be the wrong one.

Rivals said he was too aggressive, showed too little patience. Dale Earnhardt Jr. even called him an "idiot'' for his role in accidents that wrecked 39 cars last year.

Johnson took the criticism, then tried to learn from his mistakes.

Boy, has he ever.

Johnson erased a career full of Talladega troubles, barreling past teammate Brian Vickers with one lap to go and holding off a charge from Tony Stewart to win the rain-postponed Aaron's 499 on Monday.  More