Jimmie Johnson Wins In A Photo Finish At Talladega

You couldn’t have asked for a better race at any level at any track.  On the final lap any one of four cars could have won and when the checkered flag flew it was a moment before anyone realized exactly who had won.  But when the dust all settled a video review showed it was Jimmie Johnson who won the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega edging Clint Bowyer by 0.002 of a second – that’s less than a foot.  It’s Johnson’s second career win at Talladega, the 54^th Sprint Cup win of his career and ends a 15-race winless streak for him.

It wasn’t too much different from last year’s spring race at Talladega.  Last year and again this year there were an incredible 88 lead changes among 26 drivers. 

Pole sitter Jeff Gordon settled for third with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who pushed Johnson to his victory coming in fourth.  Kevin Harvick who was pushing Clint Bowyer completed the top five. 

Carl Edwards remains the points leader with Johnson moving up to second and Dale Jr. moving to third.  A wreck on lap 140 ended the days of championship contenders Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.  Busch dropped to 6^th in the standings while Kenseth now stands 8^th.

Next up on the schedule is a Saturday night race at Richmond.