Johnson takes NASCAR stop at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- The NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Darlington Raceway was decided by inches for the second straight year. This time, though, it was on pit road and not the racetrack.

Jimmie Johnson barely beat Bobby Labonte out of the pits on his last stop Sunday, then held off a late challenge to win the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

It didn't look like Johnson or anyone else had a chance to beat Labonte, as the former Cup champion built a lead of more than half a straightaway over Kurt Busch with only 20 laps left in the 293-lap event.

But, when Kyle Petty's engine went up in a plume of white smoke, bringing out a caution flag on lap 275, Johnson found hope.

All the leaders pitted for much-needed fresh tires and Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet crew put up its third consecutive 12.6-second stop, getting him out about 8 inches in front of Labonte's No. 18 Chevy.

Labonte got the nose of his car next to Johnson's rear quarterpanel several times, but couldn't quite catch the leader, finishing 0.132 seconds -- about two car lengths -- behind.

The green flag came out on lap 283, but another caution flag waved moments later when Tony Stewart bumped rookie Kasey Kahne from behind and sent him sliding through turns three and four.

The ensuing caution was longer than expected. When the green was displayed again with only four laps remaining, it looked like this race might turn out like last year's, when Ricky Craven nipped Busch by about 3 inches in a bumping, fender-banging finish.

Labonte, who won the Southern 500 here in 2000, gave it a good try. He got the nose of his car next to Johnson's rear quarterpanel several times, but couldn't quite catch the leader, finishing 0.132 seconds -- about two car lengths -- behind.

"The car was handling perfect," Labonte said. "We obviously didn't want to mess with it when the caution came out. But the 48 car beat us off pit road and we ended up chasing him for second.

"We just couldn't get by him," Labonte added. "We tried our best and just couldn't do it."

For Johnson, it was the seventh victory of his Nextel Cup career and first on NASCAR's oldest superspeedway. It also was the 10th Darlington victory for team owner Rick Hendrick, tying him for the track record with retired Junior Johnson.

"I knew he was coming," Johnson said of Labonte. "I knew I had to protect the high side. He got inside me a couple of times but, luckily, I had momentum."

Johnson and Labonte both said it definitely was harder to pass all day on the narrow egg-shaped oval, made even tighter by the recent installation of the impact-cushioning SAFER barriers on the outside walls in the turns and the front straightaway. That sliced 30 inches from the racing groove, which has always been up near the outside wall.

"Racing for position made a small difference, but catching cars off the pace, it was a nightmare," the winner said.

"It's a pretty narrow place, you know," Labonte noted. "It was harder to pass (today) and you really had to pick and choose your places a little more."

Ryan Newman, who had to make up a lost lap after being penalized for hitting a marker cone while entering the pits early in the race, came back to finish third, followed by Robby Gordon, Elliott Sadler and Busch.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had to make up a lap and struggled with handling throughout the race. He still managed a 10th-place finish and jumped past Tony Stewart into second in the standings, trailing leader Matt Kenseth by 21 points.

Kenseth came into the race with four top-10 finishes, including two wins, in as many starts this season, but had a bad day Sunday, finishing 31st. Last year's champion was running in the top 10 when he got sideways and was hit from behind by Ricky Rudd, igniting a six-car accident on lap 161.

He came through the accident with little damage, but Kenseth was then hit with a one-lap penalty for passing cars under the caution flag. He later lost more ground when he pitted under green because he thought a tire was going flat.

Stewart also had a difficult day, finishing 17th after running in the top 10 much of the race. He trails Kenseth in the standings by 35 points.

Kahne, who started from the pole and had finished in the top three in three of his first four Cup races, somehow salvaged a 13th-place finish despite numerous problems.

Kahne was right behind Newman when the latter hit the marker cone and wound up dodging the No. 12 Dodge and missing pit lane and having to go around again.

A little later, he cut down a tire, bringing out one of the nine caution flags in the race and losing a lap. Kahne regained the lap, but lost ground again when Stewart hit him on lap 283.