Jimmie Johnson runs away to win at Atlanta; Kevin Harvick second

Ray Slover

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Jimmie Johnson runs away to win at Atlanta; Kevin Harvick second image

Jimmie Johnson came on late Sunday, winning for the first time at Atlanta Motor Speedway since 2007. It was an emphatic victory on a long day.

Only Kevin Harvick was in sight as Johnson took the No. 48 Chevrolet across the line for the checkered flag. Johnson took the lead on Lap 265, survived a couple crashes, resulting cautions and a red flag to show nobody could catch him at the end.

MORE: Race results | Junior pleased | Gordon salute | Standings | Schedule

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third, followed by Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth.

"It's a great racecar, and unfortunately the way qualifying went we didn't have a very good pit stall pick and it took us a long time to get in front," Johnson said. "But once we did that we were able to utilize our awesome pit crew, get the stops done, race for the win and get the job done."

Johnson said is crew surprised him with its race-day performance.

"We weren't that good yesterday," he said, "and they really dug deep and figured out what I needed in this racecar."

Logano dominated the race early, but Harvick roared from the back of the field where he started the race because of an engine replacement. Harvick found a low line early and stuck to it, leaving the rest of the field to follow.

MORE: Kyle Busch recovering | PHOTOS: Atlanta gallery

Once Johnson got the lead, he found the clean air to his liking. He left Junior in his wake, and nobody could catch him.

Johnson now has four victories and 15 top-10 finish in 24 races at Atlanta.

Remember, Johnson was among former Cup champions forced to start from the rear because of Friday's qualifying inspection snafu.

"I'm just so excited that this team understood what I was complaining about last year," Johnson said, calling his car "just bad fast. I had a great time racing with the No. 4."

Johnson led 92 laps, Harvick 116, Logano 84.

NASCAR caught a break with the weather. Despite a week of cold and rain, Sunday's race came off without significant weather problems.

It was foggy all day, as expected. But once dryers did their work and a prolonged pre-race parade completed the process, there were no additional weather delays. The race did start behind schedule, however, and weather might have kept the crowd down. Estimates had the grandstands at about 50 percent full.

Neither did teams have problems with new rules that cut cars' downforce. The track was expected to be slick, and it did chew up tires, but most teams found the grip they needed.

A huge crash on Lap 305 brought the race to a halt. Clint Bowyer appeared to lose a cylinder, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s had nowhere to go but into the No. 15. The cars of Greg Biffle, Kyle Larson, Joe Nemecheck, Regan Smith and Sam Hornish Jr. were collected.

Jeff Gordon's day ended on Lap 257, when he was caught in a crash. It was the race's first big accident. It appeared Denny Hamlin lost his car, which spun and hit Ryan Newman's car. Gordon was left with nowhere to go, collected in the grinder along with Jamie McMurray.

Gordon's day ended with the No. 24 car on a wrecker's hook on Lap 259. Although he wasn't challenging for the lead, Gordon was in the top 20 all day. Hamlin had been better, in the top 10 most of the day.

"I just got loose," Hamlin said. After repairs, Hamlin's car returned to the race.

Gordon said he had cleared Hamlin's car when McMurray arrived on the scene, collecting the 24. "I saw the 11 get loose and he was just trying to save it," Gordon said.

The scary part for Gordon? "It wouldn't have been too bad, but I found that one spot where there is no SAFER barrier," he said.

"I don't think we can say any more after [Kyle Busch's] incident at Daytona," Gordon said. "Everybody knows we have to do something and it should have been done a long time ago. All we can do now is hope they do it as fast as they possibly can."

Gordon won pole position at Daytona before being collected in a final-lap crash. Sunday's crash put Gordon in 41st place. Now he has two finishes in the final dozen with a mangled machine, making this a sour start to his farewell season.

When the green flag came out for Lap 263, Johnson and Earnhardt were battling Carl Edwards and Harvick, with Brad Keselowski closing the gap. Edwards shredded his left rear tire on Lap 275, knocking him out of contention.

Leaders pitted on green just before Cole Whitt lost an engine on Lap 297, bringing out the day's eighth caution. Johnson's large lead disappeared when the pace car hit the track.

Johnson and Harvick pitted with 25 laps to go, with Earnhardt and Logano among drivers following them into the pits.

Then came the day's big crash, taking out six cars on Lap 305. When the race went green again, Johnson put the field in his mirrors.

The day's biggest surprise? Brett Moffitt, in the No. 55 car, finished eighth. Moffitt is filling in for Brian Vickers, who is recovering from heart surgery. Vickers will return for the season's third race, at Las Vegas, but Moffitt made the most of his opportunity.

"You always want to do well but you also don't want to go out and make a crazy mistake trying too hard, he said ahead of the race. Given a chance, he delivered for Michael Waltrip Racing and 55 sponsor Aaron’s.

"They have shown a lot of faith in me over the last few years and given me this chance. That's all I ask for," Moffitt said. "I want to show that I belong out here."

Running Atlanta was a pleasure, he said.

"That isn’t pressure, in fact it’s kind of fun," Moffitt said. "Pressure to me is walking around the track with no ride."

Pressure for the Sprint Cup field on Sunday was Johnson with a lead and 10 laps to go. Nobody had an answer.

Ray Slover