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maybe he is tired of being a P/C poster child like hid Daddy Jeff Gordon.
Fuel-mileage gamble pays off as Johnson snags first Cup win of '08
By Mike Hembree – Associate Editor
Sunday, April 13, 2008
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
AVONDALE, Ariz. – On a night that appeared to belong first to his teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and later to veteran Mark Martin, defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson won a fuel gamble and scored his first victory of the season in Saturday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Johnson, whose 2008 has been something less than what might have been expected from a driver who won 10 times last year, had a pair of seconds in the first seven races but had not threatened victory lane.
At Phoenix, he ended that mini-drought by staying on the track late in the race at the end of a long green-flag run, testing the fuel mileage of both his car and his competitors. Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, won that battle.
Johnson crossed the finish line seven seconds in front of second-place Clint Bowyer, who also stretched his fuel run.
“I thought everyone was going to have to pit,” third-place driver Denny Hamlin said. Hamlin pitted late for two tires.
Earnhardt Jr. led 87 laps (second only to the winner) and appeared to be within range of scoring his first point win for Hendrick Motorsports. Instead, he was passed by Martin on the 272nd of 312 laps. Martin, driving the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Earnhardt Jr. left to race for Hendrick, stayed in front until he pitted for fuel with 11 laps to go. He finished fifth, one spot behind Carl Edwards. Jeff Burton was sixth and Earnhardt Jr. seventh.
“We’re back!” Johnson said in victory lane after spinning a couple of burnouts and then being pushed to the celebration by a wrecker because his car had run out of fuel.
The win, Hendrick Motorsports’ first of the season, was Johnson’s second straight at PIR.
Mentioned Drivers: Clint Bowyer
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