Johnson wins fourth at Indy

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

Jimmie Johnson stamped another exclamation point on his racing resume, winning his fourth career Brickyard 400 with a dominant drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

With the victory, Johnson joined Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon as the only NASCAR drivers to win four times at the historic 2.5-mile track, which has hosted stock car racing since 1994.

“Four wins? I’m at a loss for words,” Johnson said in victory lane.

Kyle Busch finished second, followed by Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon. Polesitter Denny Hamlin was sixth.

It was a rough day for Matt Kenseth, who came into Sunday’s race with the Sprint Cup Series points lead but was taken out of the race in a late collision with Joey Logano.

Johnson also won the Brickyard in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

“They’re that good, and they deserve it,” Gordon said

The victory puts Johnson among some legendary names in the historic track’s record books. Gordon is the only other four-time Brickyard 400 winner. Only three drivers have won four Indianapolis 500s: A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears; Mears was one of Johnson’s racing heroes growing up.

Formula One ace Michael Schumacher won the U.S. Grand Prix five times on Indy’s road course configuration.

But Johnson’s big moment was seen by another disappointing crowd at what still is considered one of the Sprint Cup Series’ most prestigious races.

After drawing huge crowds for more than a decade after the first NASCAR race at Indianapolis in 1994, attendance has been sagging in recent years. The front-stretch stands were fairly full but there were sparse crowds in the turns.

Jeff Burton’s flat tire brought out a caution with 36 laps to go, giving the leaders an opportunity to make their final pit stops.

Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Gordon and Busch all took four tires on their stops — but Biffle only took two tires, allowing him to come out of the pits first.

The race restarted with 31 laps to go, with Biffle taking the lead and Johnson fighting off Busch to hold on to second.