Johnson ready to defend in Las Vegas — again

A timely pit stop late in the Feb. 28, 2010, race gave Jimmie Johnson his fourth Sprint Cup victory in the past six years at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The win in the Shelby American 400 helped propel Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus to their fifth consecutive Cup season championship.

A late-race tire strategy by Knaus helped the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet overcome teammate Jeff Gordon, who led 219 of the race's first 250 laps.

While Gordon took two tires, Johnson took four. That was the difference, according to both drivers.

"We felt as though coming into that last pit stop, if we took four tires and went out somewhere in the top eight, we would have a shot to win the race if everybody else took two," Johnson said.

He restarted the race third and quickly picked off Clint Bowyer before starting to run down Gordon in front of a near-capacity crowd estimated at 140,000.

Johnson passed Gordon on lap 251 and wasn't challenged over the final 16 laps, beating runner-up Kevin Harvick by 1.87 seconds. Gordon was third.

For most of the 2 hours, 49 minutes and 53 seconds it took to run the race -- the second quickest 267-lap race at the speedway -- it looked as if Gordon would be the one celebrating in Victory Lane.

On the first lap, he took the lead from pole winner Kurt Busch; Busch ultimately got caught in a crash on lap 94 and finished eight laps down in 35th.

Younger brother Kyle Busch, who won the Cup race in 2009, wrestled with a poor-handling car, then was penalized for speeding on pit road. He finished 15th.

Following is a look back at rest of the series' 13-year run in Las Vegas:

MARCH 1, 2009

Kyle Busch had a banner year in 2009, winning nine times to earn NASCAR's Nationwide Series championship, claiming seven Camping World Truck races and posting four wins in the premier Sprint Cup Series.

And it all started with a Cup victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track he watched being built.

The native son not only won the Shelby 427 before about 140,000 fans, he did it after starting deeper in the 43-car field than any of the event's previous 11 winners. He won the pole, but a mechanical problem forced his Joe Gibbs Racing team to replace the engine, resulting in an automatic NASCAR penalty that dropped him to the back of the pack; he started 38th.

When older brother Kurt Busch, who finished 23rd, qualified in second, they became only the third pair of brothers to claim the front row for a Cup race in the 61-year history of NASCAR.

MARCH 2, 2008

Carl Edwards and his No. 99 Ford gave Roush Fenway its second consecutive Cup victory of the young season. But the team was penalized after technical inspection by NASCAR; Edwards and car owner Jack Roush lost 100 points apiece, and crew chief Bob Osborne was fined $100,000 and suspended for six Cup races.

The race ended with a two-lap overtime shootout. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, and Greg Biffle, Edwards' teammate, was third before a crowd estimated at 150,000.

With four laps remaining, Earnhardt lost traction on a restart following a track-record 11th caution flag.

MARCH 11, 2007

Jimmie Johnson quickly adjusted to the new racing surface built following the 2006 race. The changes included higher banking in the turns and a new pit road entrance. He earned his third straight Las Vegas Cup win.

The team overcame a near-disastrous pit stop early in the race and a brief lapse when Johnson's car grazed the guardwall.

He was able to get around teammate Jeff Gordon late in the race and survived a caution period with 16 laps left to win before a sun-soaked crowd estimated at 155,000.

MARCH 12, 2006

Jimmie Johnson got his second consecutive LVMS win when he passed Matt Kenseth on the last turn of overtime to win by a razor-thin 0.045 seconds.

Johnson, who started the race third, was 1.5 seconds behind Kenseth with 13 laps left in what was supposed to be a 267-lap race, but the event was extended by three laps. Kenseth led a race-record 146 laps.

The drama began to build in front of a crowd of 154,000 when Kenseth felt the engine losing power in his No. 17 Roush Racing Ford. Johnson began chipping away at the gap, but said he doubted he had time to catch Kenseth.

MARCH 13, 2005

Jimmie Johnson won, but the hometown Busch brothers stole the show. Rookie Kyle Busch finished second behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, and reigning Cup series champion Kurt Busch was third in front of a record crowd of 156,000.

But postrace celebrations in the Hendrick garages were short-lived. NASCAR inspectors determined the cars of Johnson and Kyle Busch did not meet specifications. The roof of Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was too low, as was the rear of Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet.

NASCAR policy is never to reverse the outcome of a race, but penalties issued two days later included the loss of 25 championship points for Johnson and Busch. Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus, was fined $35,000 and suspended for two races, but the suspension later was reduced to 90 days' probation.

MARCH 7, 2004

Matt Kenseth gained his second consecutive Las Vegas win in dominant fashion, beating late-charging rookie Kasey Kahne by 3.426 seconds in front of a crowd estimated at 142,000.

MARCH 2, 2003

Matt Kenseth ran away with the race, beating Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line by 9.1 seconds for his only victory of the year.

Kenseth, who started 17th, took advantage of a great pit stop to give Roush Racing and Ford their fourth Cup title in Las Vegas. Kenseth went on to win the season championship.

MARCH 3, 2002

A pit stop played an important role in Sterling Marlin's win in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.

With 121 of 267 laps completed, Marlin prepared to turn down pit road before entering the fourth turn when Jerry Nadeau's car tapped the rear of his No. 40 Dodge Intrepid. Marlin's car slid sideways and, in what might have been the best driving of the day, Marlin averted a potentially major crash.

With 55 laps left, it looked as if Tony Stewart would win, but moments after he passed Shawna Robinson, who was several laps down, he hit the guardwall to bring out a caution. Marlin held on to beat Jeremy Mayfield by 1.163 seconds.

MARCH 4, 2001

A month after Dale Earnhardt died in a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon won at LVMS to earn a $1 million bonus as one of five cars designated to participate in the Winston No Bull bonus program.

Gordon, who started 24th, took the lead with 20 laps to go and finished 1.477 seconds ahead of Dale Jarrett. Gordon's Chevy snapped a streak of three wins by Ford and Roush Racing.

MARCH 5, 2000

Jeff Burton won a rain-shortened race, with only 148 of 267 laps completed.

Burton, who won the Busch (now Nationwide) Series race the day before, also earned the $1 million Winston No Bull bonus. It was his second straight Cup victory in Las Vegas.

Burton started 11th but was second by the time the first caution came out on the 19th lap, with rain falling 16 minutes into the race. The race was stopped 22 laps later and delayed for 26 minutes.

Racing resumed for another 107 laps before rain finally ended the day with Burton in the lead.

MARCH 7, 1999

Jeff Burton won a side-by-side battle with older brother Ward Burton. Jeff Burton had the dominant car throughout, leading 111 of 267 laps.

The Burtons finished first and second in a 1993 Busch Series race in Virginia, with little brother winning that one, too.

MARCH 1, 1998

Mark Martin won the first Las Vegas Cup race. Roush teammate Jeff Burton was second. Martin led 70 of the final 170 laps, giving up the lead only for pit stops. He led 82 total laps, the most of any driver.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.