Jimmie Johnson pulls another one out, beating Harvick and Gordon to win Las Vegas

  Jimmie Johnson's crew made the right pit road decision down the stretch, opening the door to career win number 49 (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   LAS VEGAS
   Wow! Jeff Gordon certainly doesn't look like anyone close to hanging up his helmet, not after Sunday's performance, leading 330 of the 400 miles.
   But Gordon's dominating show in the Shelby American Las Vegas 400 went for naught, when a two-tire gamble on the final round of pit stops backfired on him, and opened the door for teammate Jimmie Johnson.
   Johnson, taking four tires on that final stop with 50 miles to go, finally got by Gordon for the lead with 17 laps to go in the 267-lapper. And Johnson cruised away to win comfortably, as Gordon faded to third, behind Kevin Harvick.
    The three-hour race was all Gordon until that fateful pit stop decision.
   "I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get away from him, after I got by him," Johnson said, after giving team owner Rick Hendrick his fifth win at this 1-1/2-mile track. The win was Johnson's 15th on a NASCAR 1-1/2-mile track; no one has scored any more wins at tracks like this.
    Track officials reported a sellout. "In what are still challenging economic times, today's turnout is a testament to the popularity of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this great city and NASCAR's premier racing series," Chris Powell, track president, said.
    The 400-miler opened with a bit of controversy when Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray ran into the back of teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, infuriating Montoya: "He runs straight into my rear. And he nearly ran me into the fence in two as well. He's not doing himself any favors.
    "I'm sure he is going to say "Oh, I didn't mean that.
    "Jamie plain and simple just wrecked us. Every time I am around him, he wants to run the heck out of me. On the restart I was inside of him, I think he got tight and never lifted, I didn't hit the fence because it was a miracle.He is just trying to prove to people he can drive a race car...I know he is trying to prove a point...but it really ruined our day. For the chase, this doesn't help; we had a problem last week with the motor and this week this. It is painful."
    And McMurray's view: "I just got really loose underneath him, and he turned in a little bit earlier than I was expecting. I had to catch my car... and unfortunately I got into him
    "You guys probably shouldn't put a lot of stock into what he said; when you ask somebody something immediately after getting crashed they typically don't have nice things to say."

    Gordon said "I knew we were a sitting duck (on the restart). It was just a matter of time....two tires versus four.
      "And I knew when Jimmie got by me that we would probably lose second as well. We were just fading.
    "But we came here on a mission. We dominated so much, had the car to win the race...we haven't dominated like this in a long time. Today we showed what we're capable of, and this gives us momentum going into Atlanta (this week's stop)
   "We've got a lot more to show; we're just starting to tap into it."
   That two-tire stop? "I think we thought more guys would be taking two tires," Gordon said.
    "If we'd won the race, Steve (Letarte, his crew chief) would have looked like a genius. But now Chad Knaus (Johnson's crew chief) looks like a genius. Steve is pretty upset obviously.
    "Shoot, we were thinking for a split second about staying out (and not pitting). If we'd done that, we'd have finished about 10th.
    "I still think two tires was the right call....if only Jimmie had taken two too. If he'd taken two, I'm confident we'd have won. On four tires, he could catch me, but he couldn't get around me.
    "Somebody once told me, if you're getting beat, make sure you're getting a piece of it," Gordon added, with a quip about his part-ownership of the Johnson team.   "I hate giving up those bonus points (for wins). They're the team to beat...but we showed today we can beat them. I'm more excited about that than anything else.
   "I'm just hoping they peak early this year."
    Harvick's rally to finish second put him in a very good mood; he's had one of the best cars all month, and he remains atop the Sprint Cup standings, by 47 points over teammate Clint Bowyer:
    "It was a good day," Harvick said. "I got us behind Friday when I smacked the wall. But the guys did a good job fixing the car.
   "We came from the back to the front, and that's been one of the most promising things this month."
   That, and Harvick made clear that he and his Richard Childress teammates have finally caught up with their Rick Hendrick rivals.
   "At the beginning of a run they'd get out ahead of us, but at the end of the run we were just as good as they were," Harvick said, referring to both Gordon and Johnson.
  "We can run with them...and they know it."
   Harvick versus Gordon versus Johnson should be the story line for next Sunday's Atlanta 500 too, it would seem.
   "Having a better Friday would have made it easier on us at the end here, with track position," Harvick said. "Could we have beaten him? I don't know...but I know we'd have had a shot."

    

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       The results of Sunday's Shelby American Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

  Jimmie Johnson: next stop -- career win No. 50. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)