Johnson captures Coca-Cola 600 for third straight time

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson ended a month of controversy by racing his way into the record books.

Still, his third consecutive victory in the Coca-Cola 600 didn't earn him total forgiveness: Fans showered Johnson with boos and beer cans after he won the wreck-filled race Sunday night.

Johnson didn't care.

"We're a stronger race team," he said. "Life is good. We're in Victory Lane."

Johnson was heavily criticized during the past month for aggressive driving that his rivals claimed caused several wrecks.

So when it looked as if Bobby Labonte had a chance to end his 47-race winless streak on the 10th anniversary of his first career victory, the fans at Lowe's Motor Speedway turned against the personable and popular Johnson.

Labonte was the leader on a restart with five laps to go and Johnson was stuck in fourth place with little time to catch up. But he did it, relying on his knowledge of the track he considers home and was on Labonte's bumper with one lap to go.

He worked his way around Labonte in the final turn and became the first driver to win three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s.

Labonte showed his frustration by kicking his car. The fans showed theirs by disrupting Johnson's celebration.

"I saw a few of them throwing beer cans at me," he said. "I don't think they liked (the win), but that's all right. It's been a rough month for us. Tonight was a tough race for us. We didn't have the best car until the end, when it mattered."

A NASCAR-record 22 cautions slowed the longest race on the schedule, and almost ruined Johnson's shot at the win. He and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers were seemingly the only cars in contention for the victory.

But they all made pit stops under the green flag, and were caught a lap down when a caution came out with 44 laps to go. It opened the race up to a pack of contenders and seemed to eliminate the Hendrick cars.

But Johnson had worked his way back up to the front and was able to challenge Labonte in the end.

Carl Edwards was third, followed by Jeremy Mayfield and pole-sitter Ryan Newman. Greg Biffle was sixth, Martin Truex Jr. seventh and Dale Jarrett, Ken Schrader and Rusty Wallace rounded out the top 10.

The race was more like a demolition derby, and the numerous wrecks ranged from isolated spins to the downright bizarre.

Joe Nemechek crashed into the wall while leading with 10 laps to go; Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrecked teammate Michael Waltrip; Casey Mears wrecked teammate Sterling Marlin; and Vickers ruined his shot at his first career victory when he caused an accident that collected Gordon.

"In all my years of racing, I have never seen anything like this," car owner Rick Hendrick said. "It was just a crazy race."

Vickers' accident with 21 laps to go wasn't even the worst of it for Gordon -- sealer used to fill a crack in the track surface broke loose early in the race and punched a huge hole in his car's grill.

He patched it up and was back in contention for the victory until Vickers' accident.

Racing resumed with 14 laps to go and Nemechek was in control -- his crew chief was singing his praise in a live television interview -- when Nemechek spun into the wall.

NASCAR stopped the race to clean the track and racing resumed 10 minutes later with Labonte in the lead with five laps left. Edwards, who tangled with Jarrett late in the race, was in second.

Johnson believed he was in third, but NASCAR pushed him back to fourth behind Newman after a heated debate with Johnson's crew chief.

But they had little doubt that Johnson -- who has won the past four points races at LMS -- could work his way into the lead.

"I knew if I could get to Bobby's quarterpanel, I could beat him," Johnson said. "I got underneath Bobby on the white flag and I made a mistake, I got sideways. But I knew if I got to his outside, I'd beat him to the line."

Labonte, who started last in the 43-car field, was somewhat satisfied with finishing second because his car had been so bad early in the race.

"It really wasn't a great car, it just was a car that contended at the end for the win," Labonte said. "I just wish there was one less lap."

Each of the drivers had to contend with a new track surface after LMS officials used a diamond-grinding machine to smooth out the trademark bumps.

It was supposed to create competitive racing, but it instead seemed to play into many of the cautions.

The grinding gave the track more grip, and the sticky tires caused the pavement to pull apart in places. Track officials had to repair it before Saturday's practice sessions with a sealer, and the sealer started coming up about 100 laps into the race.

That's when a chunk of it flew into the front of Gordon's car, opening up a gaping hole that forced him to make several stops to repair it.

Track president Humpy Wheeler said the cracking was not a result of the grinding process.

"The problem is not with the asphalt, it is with the crack sealer -- and that is not abnormal," Wheeler said.

Drivers grumbled that passing was too difficult on the new surface, and former race winner Matt Kenseth contended it played a part in the five-car accident started by Earnhardt.

"It's just so hard to pass. Dale Jr. got by me while I was trying to pass Michael," Kenseth said. "The conditions are OK, but it's impossible to pass. Unless a miracle happens, the fastest car won't win the race."