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Atlanta NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson comes from back to victory

Jimmie Johnson claimed victory in the Atlanta NASCAR Sprint Cup race despite missing qualifying

Hendrick's six-time champion was among a group of cars that did not make it through a controversial technical inspection in time to run in Friday's qualifying session, leaving him 37th for the start.

Johnson made steady progress through the pack and then began a lead battle with reigning champion Kevin Harvick in the second half of the race.

Harvick's charge had been even more impressive than Johnson's. His front row start had been lost when an engine failure in Saturday practice put him to the back for the race, but he surged up the order to take the lead from polesitter and early dominator Joey Logano on lap 87 of 325.

The Stewart-Haas driver controlled the middle section of the race before eventually losing out to Johnson, who broke decisively clear in the final 14-lap sprint following a red flag for a multi-car pile-up triggered by Greg Biffle and Joe Nemechek colliding.

Johnson took the flag 1.8 seconds ahead of Harvick, who passed Dale Earnhardt Jr for second late on.

Logano faded to fourth, ahead of brief race leader Matt Kenseth. Pitting for fresh rubber slightly earlier than rivals on a day of extreme tyre wear paid off for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, as he repeatedly gained ground on his out-laps.

Martin Truex Jr, AJ Allmendinger and a great performance by Brett Moffitt, the rookie standing in for Brian Vickers in the Michael Waltrip Toyota for this race only, filled positions six to eight.

Denny Hamlin had been a top-three contender for a long spell and briefly led, but spun after a restart in the final quarter of the race and took Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray with him.

RESULTS - 325 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3h49m06.s
2 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1.802s
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3.644s
4 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 5.423s
5 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 6.015s
6 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 6.183s
7 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 8.096s
8 Brett Moffitt Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 8.493s
9 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 8.983s
10 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 10.812s
11 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10.939s
12 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 11.885s
13 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 13.243s
14 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Lap
15 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
16 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
17 Regan Smith Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 1 Lap
18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 Laps
19 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 2 Laps
20 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 2 Laps
21 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 2 Laps
22 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 3 Laps
23 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 3 Laps
24 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 4 Laps
25 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 5 Laps
26 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 5 Laps
27 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 5 Laps
28 Brendan Gaughan Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 5 Laps
29 Michael Annett Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 6 Laps
30 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 6 Laps
31 Mike Bliss Go FAS Racing Ford 7 Laps
32 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Ford 7 Laps
33 Joe Nemechek Front Row Motorsports Ford 7 Laps
34 J.J. Yeley BK Racing Toyota 9 Laps
35 Jeb Burton BK Racing Toyota 9 Laps
36 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford Accident
37 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford Engine
38 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 41 Laps
39 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 43 Laps
40 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Accident
41 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Accident
42 Ron Hornaday Jr. The Motorsports Group Chevrolet Rear Gear
43 Landon Cassill Hillman Smith Motorsports Chevrolet Engine
- Brian Scott Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Withdrawn

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER TWO OF 36 ROUNDS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Joey Logano 88
2 Jimmie Johnson 87
3 Kevin Harvick 86
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 84
5 Martin Truex Jr. 75
6 Casey Mears 68
7 Kasey Kahne 65
8 A.J. Allmendinger 62
9 Aric Almirola 62
10 Clint Bowyer 58
11 David Gilliland 56
12 Sam Hornish Jr. 55
13 Greg Biffle 54
14 Carl Edwards 54
15 David Ragan 53
16 Danica Patrick 51
17 Paul Menard 50
18 Matt Kenseth 49
19 Denny Hamlin 48
20 Michael Annett 47


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