Three-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is now in control of the series point standings after taking the checkered flag at Auto Club Speedway in the Pepsi 500.

Johnson was clearly the fastest in the second half of the race and he survived a series of cautions and a long red flag period to get the win. He held off teammate Jeff Gordon on the final restart with three laps to go. Gordon finished 2nd.

He now leads previous points leader and teammate Mark Martin by 12 points in the series standings.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished third in the event followed by Martin in fourth.

Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards finished 5th and 6th, respectively. David Ragan finished 7th, followed by Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick.

Chasers Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle finished 15th and 20th, respectively. The other Chase drivers did not fair so well. Brian Vickers finished a lap down in 29th, Kasey Kahne finished 34th after a late race incident with Busch and Biffle, and Denny Hamlin, who had led the race early in the day, finished a dismal 37th after making contact with Montoya and hitting the wall.

The Sprint Cup Series will be in Charlotte, NC at Lowe’s Motor Speedway next Saturday night under the lights. The NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America is scheduled to broadcast on ABC at 7pm on October 17th. 

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