Johnson prevails despite obstacle

Jimmie Johnson overcame a NASCAR mistake to win at Pocono Raceway.
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) -- It was the race that almost got away from Jimmie Johnson.
But in a year in which Johnson has been perhaps the most dominant driver on the Nextel Cup circuit, everything fell into place at the right time.
Johnson used a near-flawless performance to overcome a NASCAR mistake to win another caution-filled race Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
"I think it makes our race team look stronger," Johnson said of NASCAR's pit-stop miscue. "We were able to overcome something that was thrown at us. I think that's what our team is capable of doing every week."
They might need to at the rate NASCAR changes its rules.
Johnson was leading when the pit road official opened the service lane one lap early during a late caution period. Johnson was unable to pit while most of the cars behind him did. He had to pit later and it cost him the front spot on the restart.
Instead of penalizing the violators, NASCAR let the field stand. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus said they never received an explanation from NASCAR.
Apology
NASCAR president Mike Helton apologized for the error after the race.
Johnson went from first to 23rd after the mix-up but raced his way back to the front. He then built on his lead on several late restarts on the 21/2-mile triangular track and led 126 of the 200 laps.
Johnson took the lead for good on lap 174 and took the high road after the race. He was glad the mistake didn't cost him.
"I'd be furious, absolutely furious," he said.
Instead, he won for the second time in three weeks, the third time this year and the ninth time in his career.
He's led 820 miles in the last three races, has two more seconds in his last five starts and cut Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s points lead to 58. The hunt for his first championship is heating up.
"It's hard to get too confident," Johnson said. "We should be one of the teams that could be competing for the championship. It's something we really want to do. We've had two great seasons and were building for a championship year."
Mayfield second
Jeremy Mayfield, who has two of his three career victories at Pocono, finished second. He pushed Johnson hard inside and was about a car-length behind when another yellow flag came out with three laps to go.
Mayfield said the cautions had little effect on the finish.
"The best car won the race," he said. "It would be different if somebody who hadn't been running up front all day won."
Bobby Labonte, who won the 1999 Pocono 500 and the 1999 and 2001 Pennsylvania 500, was third.
The race ended under caution because Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton blew engines. After only three cautions in the first 100 laps, there were eight in the last 100. The 11 cautions equaled last week's fiasco at Dover which forced NASCAR to change several caution rules.
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