DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Finally!
After months of frustration,
Jimmie Johnson gave
Rick Hendrick his 200th Sprint Cup Series victory, running
away from the rest of the field on a green-white-checkered
restart that took the Bojangles' Southern 500 one lap past its
scheduled distance.
On Saturday night at Darlington Raceway, Johnson ended his
own winless streak of 16 races, a drought of relative epic
proportions for the five-time champion. The victory was
Johnson's 56th, breaking a tie with
Rusty Wallace for eighth on the all-time list.
Denny Hamlin ran second, followed by
Tony Stewart,
Kyle Busch and
Martin Truex Jr.
Johnson won the 199th race for Hendrick, outdueling
Kasey Kahne in last year's Oct. 9 Chase race at Kansas
Speedway. In subsequent months, the organization has been
tantalizingly close to No. 200 -- notably at Martinsville, where
Hendrick drivers were running 1-2-3 before a late caution.
On Saturday night, in winning for the third time at the Lady
in Black, Johnson finally put the question of the 200th win to
rest. After pitting for the final time on Lap 299 of 368,
however, Johnson had to save fuel to make it to the checkered
flag.
All of Johnson's 56 victories have come under the Hendrick
banner.
"You've got to love that man," Johnson said of his car owner
during a celebration in Victory Lane. "He said, 'Two hundred is
great, but let's go get 250.' So that tells you where his head
is. I love it. Oh, man, what a day!"
In the closing laps, with the outcome in the balance,
Hendrick left the pit box and paced up and down pit road.
"I had to get away," Hendrick said. "They said that we were
going to make it [on fuel], but I don't believe them, you know?
Everything has happened backward for us. We've run so good this
year and then had such bad luck ...
"I'm kind of numb, but I'm glad it's over. I think we're
going to win a few more now."
