Johnson runs lean to Phoenix Cup win

The reigning Sprint Cup Series champion led more laps than any of his rivals during the race and was the fastest car on the track for a while, but still had to go very slow in the last few miles before the chequered flag to be able to complete the distance.

With no caution flags coming out since the leaders pitted for fuel and tyres at what they expected to be their last stop, most of the frontrunners' calculations showed they wouldn't be able to finish the race without a splash-and-go.

However Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus made the call for his driver to stay on the track while others drove into pitlane. Johnson ran slower that many backmarkers but his gamble paid off, as he was able to take his first victory of the season.

In the end there was more than enough gasoline in the 17.7-gallon fuel cell of the 48 car, allowing Johnson to do a burnout after finishing the race and then complete one more lap to drive his car into victory lane under its own power.

"We're back," Johnson said after winning his second race in a row at Phoenix.

"I'm shocked that I was able to save fuel running that hard through the field. I restarted in 14th on that last restart and drove to third on my own and then when I got to the front I was able to manage the fuel.

"We adjusted the car through the race and then brought it back to where we started and that's where we finished."

Before Johnson regained the lead with ten laps remaining. Mark Martin looked favourite to take what would've been his first victory since 2005, but his team played it safe and that meant they only managed a fifth place finish.

"We were saving gas," a disappointed Martin said. "I thought we were going to go (without stopping) so we went real slow. We had such an incredible car and then I guess there was some confusion on the figure and they decided that we were going to have to come."

Clint Bowyer finished second by staying out but he was too far behind Johnson to be a threat for victory. Denny Hamlin recovered to third after being among the first choosing to pit for fuel and two tyres with more than 15 laps remaining.

Carl Edwards was one of the last to pit and was right on Johnson's rear bumper before driving into the pits to take a couple of gallons of fuel that allowed him to score yet another good result with a fourth place finish, recovering also from a pitroad penalty early on.

Points leader Jeff Burton continues to top the standings with a solid sixth place finish, also gambling on staying out in the closing laps like teammate Bowyer. He also recovered well after spinning on lap 133 when he drove over oil left by Ryan Newman's fuming Dodge.

Dale Earnhardt Jr was also among those contending for victory, leading 87 laps but losing some speed in the end. He also pitted for fuel and two tyres shortly before the end and crossed the finish line in seventh, losing in the battle of the 'eights' with Martin's DEI's car.

Sam Hornish Jr was the best rookie finisher in what was his fourth NASCAR race at the one-mile oval. He leads the rookies standing after his 20th place finish, ending a lap down on the winner but two ahead of Dario Franchitti who was 32nd, right ahead of fellow rookies Patrick Carpentier, Michael McDowell and Regan Smith.

"Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you're unlucky and tonight we got unlucky," Franchitti said. "We came to pit road about three laps before a yellow came out and that put us an extra lap down and that was that. We were two laps down instead of being one.

"We were running top-15 times pretty much all night but we just got put those two laps down and that was it."

Johnson's victory has moved him up two places in the standing to fourth, while Kevin Harvick lost three places in the points and is now fifth. Kyle Busch now ranks second after a quiet but productive day with a tenth-place finish, while Earnhardt Jr has moved up to third.

Sprint Cup Series teams will enjoy a weekend off before returning for the first race of the year at Talladega in two weeks' time.

Pos  Driver               Make        Laps
 1.  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet    312
 2.  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet    312
 3.  Denny Hamlin         Toyota       312
 4.  Carl Edwards         Ford         312
 5.  Mark Martin          Chevrolet    312
 6.  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet    312
 7.  Dale Earnhardt Jr    Chevrolet    312
 8.  Martin Truex Jr      Chevrolet    312
 9.  Greg Biffle          Ford         312
10.  Kyle Busch           Toyota       312
11.  Casey Mears          Chevrolet    311
12.  Bobby Labonte        Dodge        311
13.  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet    311
14.  David Gilliland      Ford         311
15.  Juan Montoya         Dodge        311
16.  Jamie McMurray       Ford         311
17.  David Reutimann      Toyota       311
18.  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet    311
19.  Sam Hornish Jr       Dodge        311
20.  Paul Menard          Chevrolet    311
21.  Tony Stewart         Toyota       311
22.  Mike Skinner         Toyota       310
23.  Robby Gordon         Dodge        310
24.  Travis Kvapil        Ford         310
25.  Kurt Busch           Dodge        310
26.  Michael Waltrip      Toyota       310
27.  Brian Vickers        Toyota       310
28.  Scott Riggs          Chevrolet    310
29.  David Ragan          Ford         310
30.  Dario Franchitti     Dodge        309
31.  Dave Blaney          Toyota       309
32.  Bill Elliott         Ford         309
33.  Patrick Carpentier   Dodge        308
34.  Michael McDowell     Toyota       307
35.  Regan Smith          Chevrolet    298
36.  Kasey Kahne          Dodge        273
37.  Johnny Sauter        Chevrolet    271
38.  Matt Kenseth         Ford         269
39.  J.J. Yeley           Toyota       224
40.  Joe Nemechek         Chevrolet    208
41.  Elliott Sadler       Dodge        161
42.  Reed Sorenson        Dodge        144
43.  Ryan Newman          Dodge        134