Johnson holds off Harvick for first 2010 win

With drama building on and off the track—black skies west of Auto Club Speedway threatened to halt the race through the last 100 miles—Jimmie Johnson held off a challenge and did what he does best when he smells the finish line: just win, baby.

Rain seemed to claw at the edges of the two-mile speedway in Fontana, Calif., but the elements had the decency not to interfere with a thrilling on-track battle between race leader Johnson and a fast-closing Kevin Harvick, who actually caught the defending four-time Sprint Cup champion with three laps to go. But in the blink of an eye the 29 car, coming off the troublesome Turn 4 exit, waffled slightly, kissing the outer wall just behind Johnson. While not damaged, the error took the stability from Harvick’s car, and he failed to regain the lost ground in the few laps remaining of the Auto Club 500.

NASCAR recorded a decent ending to a race that wasn’t the inevitable two-lap green-white-checkered dash that has come to characterize so many Sprint Cup finishes. While some fans think the two-lap shootouts constitute excitement, I’m of the belief there’s nothing like green-flag racing, and that’s what Auto Club 500 viewers got Sunday, with only six race interruptions from the yellow flag, two of those coming as a result of blown engines.

Johnson, showing that Lady Luck has not abandoned her favorite driver now officially launched toward his fifth straight driver’s title, caught the benefit of a major break late in the race. Just as the 48 car pulled onto pit road under green for its final stop, with 26 laps left, Brad Keselowski spun out in Turn 4, bringing out the yellow. Everybody else would have to pit under caution, which put Johnson into the lead when he reentered the track ahead of then-race leader Jeff Burton.

From that point on, it was a refreshing three-man race between Johnson, Harvick, and Burton…and no rain.

ROADSIDE RAVES: The most exciting action in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 took place in the pits, where Jamie McMurray’s right-rear tire-changer had to pull off a Rudolf Nureyev-like balletic move to avoid being flattened by Kevin Harvick exiting from his pit box immediately behind McMurray. The tire-changer appeared to reverse pivot from his station to try and grab an errant wheel heading Harvick’s way. Spotting the oncoming 29 car, the man leaped high in the air, landing indelicately on Harvick’s hood before bounding off it and back down to the track. Penalties for the incident were assessed to both McMurray as well as Harvick, the latter tagged unfairly.

Alan Ross is the author of 32 books and a regular contributor to American Profile. E-mail: alanross_sports@yahoo.com
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