FONTANA, Calif. -- Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team made an emphatic statement in Sunday's Pepsi 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.
Johnson collected his third victory of the season in dominating fashion, leading 228 of 250 laps at the two-mile track. The win was Johnson's 36th overall, breaking a tie with Mark Martin for 17th place on the all-time list.
Johnson beat runner-up Greg Biffle to the finish by 2.076 seconds, and in doing so, the two-time defending Cup champion clinched a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the final field for which will be set after Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
With his position in NASCAR's "postseason" assured, Johnson will attempt to win a third straight Cup title this year, a feat only Cale Yarborough has accomplished, in 1976-1978.
Denny Hamlin was third Sunday, followed by Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.
"All you've got to do is take that green flag, and you're in the Chase," crew chief Chad Knaus told Johnson after the command to start engines. "Congratulations on getting that done. Depending on how quick timing and scoring is, I'll try to give you your lap times on the front straightaway."
"Thanks, boys," Johnson added. "Another great race car."
A.J. Allmendinger, who started beside Johnson on the front row, led at the stripe on lap 1, but Johnson put the Lowe's Chevy back on the point a lap later.
On lap 4, Jamie McMurray's flat tire necessitated the first caution period of the race.
"That was definitely comfortable," Johnson said during the yellow. "I'm plenty comfortable. The first couple of laps I could feel the grip, and responding to the input from the steering wheel, I started sliding a little bit."
"We're going to stay out," Knaus said, telling Johnson not to bring the car to pit road. "There'll be some takers, but we'll stay out."
"There are still a lot of bags flying around," Reeves warned on lap seven, referring to hot dog wrappers from the grandstands. "Be aware of that on the restart."
Johnson held the lead for the restart on lap 9 and stayed out front until NASCAR called a caution for debris on lap 20.
"Caution's out," Reeves radioed. "There's a big piece of debris in turn 1."
"It looks like a stoplight," Johnson answered
"The caution light fell off the fence," Reeves rejoined, confirming the driver's observation.
Under the second caution, Johnson brought the Lowe's Chevy to pit road for four tires and fuel.
"Tires look real good, man," Knaus told Johnson after the stop.
"You've got the 9 (Kasey Kahne) lining up behind you," Reeves said before the restart on lap 25. "He ran the bottom (of the track) for the first few laps of the last run. Then he moved to the extreme top."
"Jimmie, I've been watching some of these guys on TV," Knaus added. "They're doing what they did last night (in a Nationwide Series race), getting down on the apron. I don't know if that's something you want to try early or not."
"Doing a good job there, bud," Knaus told his driver on lap 34, after Johnson had padded his lead. "You've got a 2.5-second lead. Be smooth. Save your stuff."
By lap 37, the margin had grown to 4.1 seconds.
On lap 43, Kurt Busch's crash in turn 2 caused the third caution of the race.
"I need a little more grip," Johnson said. "I had to part the throttle in (turns) 1 and 2. A little free off."
Still leading on lap 52, after a pit stop under yellow and a subsequent restart, Johnson described the handling of the Lowe's Chevy: "We've improved the center, but it's made the exit a little bit freer," he said.
"Loose off both ends?" Knaus asked.
"10-4," Johnson replied. "Starting to see a little free back on the gas in (turn) 2."
"It's starting to cool off a little bit here," Knaus said two laps later, indicating that track conditions were likely to change with the temperature.
"It is better through the center," Johnson reported on lap 56.
"There's a plastic bag floating around here in turn 1," Knaus said on lap 64, with Johnson still in the lead. "Try to avoid it. Good job."
"What you got there, bud?" Knaus asked on lap 68 after Joe Nemechek's crash off turn 2 caused the fourth caution of the race.
"The worst thing I had was the exit off of (turn) 4," Johnson replied. "It gradually got worse and worse."
"We were about halfway through that fuel run," Knaus said. "You want to try some stuff?"
"We can try some stuff and see what it does," agreeing to try some adjustments to the handling of the Lowe's Chevy.
"One in the left rear," Knaus said in anticipation of a pit stop under yellow. "Air pressure. Wedge."
Before the subsequent restart on lap 74, Knaus told Johnson, "The 99 (Carl Edwards) has worked his way up into the top 10. He's strong early for about 15 laps, then he starts to get loose. The 16 (Biffle) and the 29 (Harvick) have been running with us."
"We started off tighter here," Johnson told Knaus, still leading under green on lap 77. Seven laps later, the driver opined that the adjustments, designed to tighten the handling of the car, might not have been such a good idea.
"We'll go back on it," Knaus replied. "We've already got a plan to make you better."
"One hundred laps complete this time," Knaus told his driver 27 laps into a long green-flag run. "We're going to pit you in about 10 (laps)."
"Doing a great job," Knaus added on lap 105. "Just start looking at your entry into pit road and get a feel for it."
And on lap 110, Knaus told Johnson, "Come around and pit this time."
"When I pound it in the track, it gets tighter," Johnson said on lap 125, when he was leading second-place Biffle by more than eight seconds. "When I just float it in, it's pretty good."
"I don't think there's anything we can do today to fix that," Knaus said. "We'll put it in the notes for next year."
"Let's get a couple of clean laps here, so we can see what you've got for lap times compared to these other cats," Knaus suggested, with Johnson still leading Biffle by more than eight seconds.
"Did the car tighten up in clean air?" Knaus asked two laps later.
"I'd say it's more loose in traffic," Johnson replied. "A little tight in the center. That's the biggest problem."
"Caution's out," Reeves warned on lap 145. "Debris on the frontstretch, up against the wall near the flag stand."
Johnson brought the Lowe's Chevy to the pits for four tires and fuel and again led the field to a restart on lap 153. NASCAR called another debris caution on lap 161, and five cars -- led by Biffle -- took two tires under yellow and beat the Lowe's Chevy out of the pits.
Less than two laps after a restart on lap 166, however, Johnson passed Biffle for the lead.
"The only car that's a little faster than us now is the 99 (Edwards), Knaus told his driver on lap 176. "He's in P3 (third position)."
On lap 180, Robby Gordon spun off turn 4 to cause the sixth caution of the race.
"What did you have there, bud?" Knaus asked.
"I never really leaned on it," Johnson answered. "I think two tires was a bad decision on those guys' part. I'm not sure how much better I am than they are."
"Do you have a tenth or two in your pocket?" Knaus asked. "I'd say four."
"The 16's been pretty good and the 99's picked it up a little bit," Knaus told his driver under caution on lap 183. "The 16 was running pretty close lap times to you, and he was on two tires."
A slower-than-usual pit stop got Johnson out in fourth place for a restart on lap 186.
"We're going to be in pressure-packed situations for the next 12 weeks," Johnson told his crew before the green flag. "Let's get our rhythm back."
Less than three laps later, a familiar scene played out when Johnson passed Biffle for the lead through turns 3 and 4.
"Good job," Knaus said on lap 190. "Make sure you're back on one battery, bud."
"Fifth to go this time," Reeves told Johnson on lap 200.
"I'm just a touch free off," Johnson reported. "Center's good right now."
"You think we're going to need to tighten you up?" Knaus asked.
"I don't know," the driver replied.
"A little free off when I'm really trying," Johnson rejoined on lap 206.
"I think we're going to drop the panhard bar down just a little bit for this last run," Knaus said.
"I think the adjustments we've been making all day have been pretty good," Johnson told his crew chief. "I'm not sure exactly what they were, but it's kept the center (of the corners) alive."
NASCAR called the seventh and final caution of the race for debris on lap 217.
"It's going to be four tires," Knaus said of the last pit stop for the Lowe's Chevy. "Get it good and full (of fuel). OK, boys, you've been good all night. One more time."
Biffle won race off pit road, but his lead didn't last.
"That's OK, guys," Knaus said. "I think it was just momentum that got us."
"How are we on fuel?" Johnson asked.
"Plenty good, Jimmie," Knaus replied. "Plenty good."
The race restarted on lap 223, and before the circuit was completed, Johnson had taken the lead for good, passing Biffle through turns 3 and 4.
"Save your tires in case we get a caution," Knaus told his driver on lap 229. "Leave our options open."
"The 16 says he has paper on the left front," Reeves reported on lap 233, as a wrapper on the grille thwarted Biffle's attempts to catch the Lowe's Chevy. "They're running at 260 (degrees, water temperature). They're trying like hell to get it (the paper) blown off."
In fact, Biffle's crew chief, Greg Erwin, came to the Lowe's pit box and tried to strike a deal with Knaus: If the Lowe's Chevy slowed down and allowed Biffle to close on Johnson's bumper (a method of dislodging the paper), Biffle would agree to restore the two-second advantage Johnson enjoyed at the time.
Knaus declined the offer.
"Two to go," Knaus said on lap 248, with Johnson closing in on victory. "Don't even mess with the 7 car (Robby Gordon) up ahead of you."
After Johnson took the checkered flag, team owner Rick Hendrick told his driver on the radio, "Man, did you spank 'em today. Great job, buddy."
