Johnson Picks Up Fifth Career Victory At Martinsville Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to have a shot at ruining Johnson’s day at the end when he restarted second for a two-lap shootout to the checkered flag. But Johnson got a good jump at the green flag and Earnhardt could never close the gap.

It was Johnson's fourth win in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville.

"It's amazing how I've gone from my first year running here disliking the track and being awful to running so well," said Johnson. "I typically run well at quirky tracks. If it's a rough track or a different track, it falls into my style. When I get to tricky little tracks like this, I think I do a pretty good job."

Earnhardt finished second, followed by Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin, who won the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville last spring.

"I didn't have a good enough drive up off the corner to catch Jimmie," said Earnhardt, who posted his ninth top-10 finish in 18 races at Martinsville. "They had such an excellent race car. We were good on a real, real long run, like 80 to 100 laps and it's rare that you get one of those. I was just a little bit too loose early on, spinning the tires, so I was just having to do the best I could to protect my position."

With the win, Johnson stretched his lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup to 149 points over Greg Biffle with four races remaining.

There were 14 lead changes among seven drivers and 12 caution periods for 76 laps.

 Racing returns to Martinsville Speedway on March 29 with the running of the Goody's 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. The Kroger 250 NASCAR Truck Series race is scheduled for March 28 with Pole Day on March 27. Tickets for all three days are on sale and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com.