Johnson fights new system by winning at Pocono

The NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader won the Pennsylvania 500.

By Dan Gelston ~ The Associated Press

LONG POND, Pa. -- Jimmie Johnson has voiced his disdain about NASCAR's new points system that will leave him fighting for a points championship instead of celebrating one near season's end.

Johnson figures the only solution is to keeping winning races.

"If we complain too much and don't stay focused on what we need to, we'll just be complainers at the end of the year who finished third or fourth," Johnson said.

It's hard to imagine that Johnson still won't be the guy to beat in those final 10 races.

Johnson pulled off a clean sweep at Pocono Raceway, dominating at the track for the second time in seven weeks, building on his NASCAR Nextel Cup points lead and winning the Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday in a race that shuffled the rest of the standings.

"Over the long haul today I was able to put the car where I needed it," said Johnson, who's the first driver to win the Pocono 500 and Pennsylvania 500 in the same year since Bobby Labonte in 1999.

Under the old points system, Johnson probably could have cruised toward his first career points title. Instead, he'll be lumped with the rest of the drivers in the top 10, along with any others within 400 points of the lead after the 26th race, to compete for the championship over the last 10 races of the season.

"I just have to deal with the rules the way they are and race as hard as we can every week," Johnson said.

The "Chase for the Cup" begins at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sept. 19.

Mark Martin continued a recent string of solid finishes by placing second, and Kasey Kahne was third. Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five.

"I don't know if anyone can beat Jimmie Johnson here right now," said Gordon, who moved to second in the standings.

While Johnson cruised, some of the big names in the top 10 struggled. Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch all failed to finish while Ryan Newman was 13th.

Harvick fell from ninth overall to 10th after failing to finish a race for the first time since October 2002 in Atlanta. Labonte dropped from seventh to ninth overall, while Newman jumped from 10th to eighth.

Pole-sitter Casey Mears finished 18th.

Jeremy Mayfield, Kahne and Martin all got closer to that 10th and final spot.

"That fact is a miracle," Martin said. "Now can we make it to the top 10? We all need to go win the Brickyard. That would make up for all the heartbreak we experienced this year."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., with second-degree burns on his legs, neck and chin from a crash two weeks ago during a sports car event, started the race to get the championship points but gave up the seat after completing 52 laps to John Andretti.

Andretti made another quick pit stop to readjust, but finished 25th after the car was black-flagged by NASCAR for not maintaining the minimum speed.

"I could have run the rest of the way, but the car was so bad, there was no use in me being in there wasting my time," Earnhardt said. "I should be out of the car trying to get better."

Earnhardt said he would be ready for this week's Brickyard 400, perhaps the marquee event outside of Daytona on the NASCAR schedule.

Stewart was knocked out when he wrecked on lap 108. Sandwiched between Kahne and Kyle Busch, Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet got loose and the nose slammed the wall. The car rolled backward -- just narrowly avoiding a rush of cars -- and came to rest in the infield.

They probably would have all needed a near-flawless performance anyway to catch Johnson, who won his fourth race this year and had his 12th top-10 finish in the last 14 races.

Johnson started 14th and earned a $90,000 bonus from NASCAR for winning the race as the points leader. He's the first points leader to win the race in Pocono since Jeff Gordon in 1998.

"I think we can win more races and be a serious threat for the championship at the end of the year," Johnson said.

It was a brutal day for the contenders on the demanding 2 1/2-mile triangular track that boasts the longest straightaway in NASCAR at seven-tenths of a mile. It didn't help that rain wiped out a practice session Saturday and shortened one on Friday.

That left qualifying as the only significant time for teams on the track. Several drivers, including Gordon and Newman, complained their cars were too tight early in the race.

It was overcast at the start when Joe Nemechek took advantage of his second-place start by leading 31 laps until a slow, sloppy pit stop stalled his momentum and any chance of contention.

He finished 16th.

That allowed Johnson to lead for the first time on lap 32, and he would end up leading a total of 124 laps. He broke a recent trend at Pocono that saw 11 of the last 14 races here won from a top-five starting position.

Johnson was the only driver to turn a lap time under 55 seconds.

Not everything was perfect, though

Whoever said victory was sweet, wasn't swigging Johnson's post-race champagne identified only with a Pennsylvania 500 label.

"It's not the tastiest of champagnes, but it will do in a pinch," he said.