Johnson beats the odds,
wins a 2nd-straight weekend
RAIN HALTS RACE A 2ND TIME
AND NASCAR CALLS IT A NIGHT


By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer


Race Results
Points



The engine problem that kept Jimmie Johnson from making a qualifying lap on makes the winner of The Winston last weekend grateful for the "extra" 100 miles in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"We've had problems where we've had to start in the back of the pack before and it seems we've run out of laps in a 500-mile race," said Johnson, who'll officially be listed as the 37th starter. He actually drop to the rear of the field for the green flag, however, since his team changed engines after the problem in Friday's qualifying.

"With an extra 100 miles, it makes it a lot different," Johnson said. "We're going to have to play our game as though we were starting up front. ...We know there will be cautions and it's going to bunch everything up. We'll be fine."
Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was the fastest in the field in Saturday's final race practice, but history will be working against him.
Only four times in the 18 years The Winston has been run at this 1.5-mile track has the winner of the all-star race come back to win the 600 the following week - Darrell Waltrip in 1985, Davey Allison in 1991, Dale Earnhardt in 1993 and Jeff Gordon in 1997.
"In building things stronger in certain areas, you don't realize the effect it's going to have on the other side," Johnson said of the engine problem his car suffered Friday. "We got things fixed and understood. The guys at the engine shop were up all night and they figured it out. All of us are much smarter about it today."
Johnson hopes he's smarter than he was last year during a 600 he dominated but didn't win because he twice overshot his pit box while making green-flag stops, allowing Mark Martin the opportunity to get the lead late and go on to win by holding off teammate Matt Kenseth. Martin's victory was the fourth straight in this race by a Roush Racing-owned Ford.
"I'd rather have the adversity now than at the end of the 600 like last year," Johnson said. "We'll be looking for a little some good luck at the end of this year's race."
A combination of luck and preparation sometimes can make a difference during the additional 100 miles that make the 600 the Winston Cup circuit's longest race.
"The guy who doesn't sleep at all the night before the 600 is the engine guy," said Elliott Sadler, who starts on the outside of Row 1 in this race for the second straight year. "With the kind of RPM we're turning on these cars compared to 10 years ago...the engine guy is the first guy's hand you're going to shake after the race if it makes it the whole way."
Gordon, who starts fourth in a bid to win this race for the fourth time in his career, says the start of the race is important, too.
"The most important thing is staying on the lead lap the first 300 or 400 miles," Gordon said. "If you can do that, you'll find a way to be in position at the end."
Only 11 cars finished on the lead lap in the 600 a year ago, and the most to finish on the lead lap in the event's history is 17 in 1997 and again in 2001.