From start to finish, Sunday's Brickyard 400 was an historic event for
Hendrick Motorsports.
It began with pole sitter Mark, who became the oldest driver to secure the top spot at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, and ended with race winner Jimmie Johnson, the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to repeat
at the historic racetrack.
Johnson started 16th in his No. 48 Lowe's/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet and was chasing Mark, the race leader,
when the final caution flag was issued on Lap 128. Johnson lined up on the outside of the front row and
next to Mark for the double-file restart. When the green flag dropped, Johnson took the lead and spent
the final 24 laps holding off a hard-charging Martin on his way to Victory Lane.
"For an old guy, he had me pretty worried," joked Johnson, who now has won three times at the Brickyard
and improves to second in the driver standings. "It's great to work with him, work with Alan
(Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 5), and work with all my teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. Those
last 15 to 20 laps, we had to drive it so hard to stay ahead of the (No.) 5. I was better in (Turns) 3
and 4 than he was, and he had me beat in (Turns) 1 and 2. It was kind of a give-and-take thing that
was going on. Luckily, we held him off."
Mark lined up his No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet in the top spot and led the first four laps of
Sunday's race. The NASCAR veteran spent most of the 160-lap event running first or second and crossed
the finish line 0.40 seconds behind Johnson. This marks the fifth time this season Hendrick Motorsports'
drivers have claimed the top two spots in a Cup event.
"I knew I had to make it happen off of (Turn) 2, but wadding it up wasn't a great idea either," said
Mark, who improves to ninth in the standings. "Both of us are driving for all we are worth, and I couldn't
get him."
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