Johnson battles Harvick, then pulls away

FONTANA, Calif. – That’s 48 for No. 48.

A week after another Daytona disappointment, Jimmie Johnson held off Kevin Harvick over the final laps to win Sunday, reaffirming his place as the dominant force in Sprint Cup racing.

The victory – by a margin of 1.523 seconds – was the 48th in Johnson’s career and helped distance him and his Lowe’s Chevrolet team from their 35th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500.

With a dark cloud hanging over the edge of Auto Club Speedway threatening to put a sudden wet end to the race and with Harvick filling his rear-view mirror, Johnson won for the fifth time at the track where he won his first Sprint Cup race in 2002.

“Life is good,” Johnson said after climbing out of his car.

So was Johnson’s fortune.

Though he led more laps than anyone (101) including the final 24, Johnson caught a huge break while pitting on Lap 224.

Brad Keselowski spun while Johnson was in his pit stall, bringing out a caution flag.

Johnson got back on the track an instant before leader Jeff Burton came around, allowing the winner of four straight Cup championships to stay on the lead lap.

While Burton later wondered if he was backing off the throttle too quickly when the caution came out, Johnson took full advantage.

Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch were also on pit road when the yellow showed. But they didn’t get out quickly enough and fell off the lead lap.

Johnson acknowledged his good fortune while Harvick, who was on the winner’s back bumper before bumping the wall with three laps remaining, was frustrated.

“They’re really good, but they’re really, really lucky,” said Harvick, the points leader after two races.

“There’s no way you’re getting around how lucky they are. They did a good job winning the race, but they have a golden horseshoe…”

Johnson just smiled.

“No way around it. We got lucky,” Johnson said. “We got a really nice gift.”

Just a week ago, however, Johnson’s Daytona 500 was ruined by a problem related to the pothole that developed in the track.

Until Keslowski’s spin this week, it looked as if the race might put an end to the long winless streak for Richard Childress Racing. Both Burton and Harvick had strong cars.

The timing of Johnson’s pit stop changed everything.

“Pit road gave us track position and I drove my butt off,” Johnson said.

In what became a 20-lap race to the finish, Johnson started at the front and pulled away from Harvick and Burton, who were running together behind him. What appeared to be an easy win for Johnson, however, quickly became a question as Harvick chased him down.

Johnson knew Harvick was there. Handling had become an issue for Johnson over the final 10 laps, so he changed his line, hoping to find something to keep Harvick behind him.

Ultimately, he chose the same high line that had been so good for Harvick, a change from his first 240 trips around the two-mile track.

“If he doesn’t move up, he’s gonna get passed pretty easily,” Harvick said. “He moved up and did what he was supposed to do to take that line away ...

"I caught the wall there just enough to knock the right-front fender in.”

After it was over, someone pointed out to Johnson he was wearing a driving suit that listed him as a three-time Sprint Cup champion, one year out of date. It didn’t matter. Everything fell right for Johnson and his team Sunday.

“Yes, we were lucky today,” Johnson said. “But you don’t get lucky and win four championships and 48 races.”