Jimmie Johnson has gone back-to-back in taking his 82nd NASCAR Cup victory in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Johnson started 11th after owners’ points set the grid due to a qualifying washout, dropping as low as 19th in the early stages before clawing his way to the pointy end of the field around the 100-lap mark.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver led for the first time upon the seventh restart with just over 100 laps to go, making side-by-side contact with Joey Logano on his way past.
He had to do it again after what would be the final restart with 31 laps to go, and would soon be chasing leader Kevin Harvick together with Kyle Larson.
Johnson made the final lead change on Lap 480 of 500, going on to win at Bristol for the second time.
“This track’s been difficult over the years and we really hit on something (on) Saturday afternoon,” explained the seven-time Cup champion.
“On that practice session we were on the bottom (lane) and honestly it’s what I’ve been looking for, for 16 years.
“I finally figured it out, so I’m very, very happy.”
Clint Bowyer finished second, ahead of Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano.
Pit lane speeding penalties played a significant role in the outcome.
Larson had led the first 202 laps but broke the speed limit during the eighth caution on Lap 423, putting the pole-sitter back to 17th before eventually finishing 6th and holding on to his points lead.
Stage 2 winner Martin Truex Jnr was also slapped with a speeding penalty, taking up 15th at the ninth and final restart, after which he climbed to eighth.
The next race is the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Monday May 1 (AEST).
VIDEO: Race highlights
Results: Food City 500 – Bristol Motor Speedway
| Pos | No | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Status | Points |
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 500 | 81 | Running | 54 |
| 2 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 500 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 500 | 14 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 500 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 500 | 72 | Running | 48 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 500 | 202 | Running | 45 |
| 7 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 8 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 500 | 116 | Running | 48 |
| 9 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 500 | 0 | Running | 29 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 500 | 10 | Running | 33 |
| 11 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 500 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 12 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 77 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 499 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 18 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 498 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 498 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | 498 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 497 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 497 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 83 | Corey LaJoie | Toyota | 497 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 494 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | 494 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 491 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 490 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | Toyota | 487 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 482 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 31 | 55 | Derrike Cope | Toyota | 465 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Ford | 458 | 5 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 452 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 433 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 383 | 0 | Accident | 3 |
| 36 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Ford | 320 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 37 | 51 | Timmy Hill | Chevrolet | 234 | 0 | Mechanical | 0 |
| 38 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 39 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 53 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
Standings
| Pos | Driver | Pts | Behind | Wins | Starts | Top 5s | Top 10s | Poles |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 360 | Leader | 1 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2 | Chase Elliott | 333 | -27 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 323 | -37 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 291 | -69 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| 5 | Brad Keselowski | 277 | -83 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Jimmie Johnson | 244 | -116 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | Jamie McMurray | 244 | -116 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 239 | -121 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 239 | -121 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | Ryan Blaney | 228 | -132 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | Kyle Busch | 214 | -146 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | Erik Jones | 192 | -168 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Trevor Bayne | 192 | -168 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Ryan Newman | 186 | -174 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Denny Hamlin | 184 | -176 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 168 | -192 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Kasey Kahne | 164 | -196 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | Kurt Busch | 163 | -197 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | Aric Almirola | 161 | -199 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | 159 | -201 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 154 | -206 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | 144 | -216 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Ty Dillon | 144 | -216 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 134 | -226 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Paul Menard | 127 | -233 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | AJ Allmendinger | 116 | -244 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Michael McDowell | 102 | -258 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Chris Buescher | 94 | -266 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Cole Whitt | 94 | -266 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Danica Patrick | 91 | -269 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Matt DiBenedetto | 90 | -270 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | Landon Cassill | 88 | -272 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | David Ragan | 79 | -281 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Corey LaJoie | 52 | -308 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Reed Sorenson | 39 | -321 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 34 | -326 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Michael Waltrip | 29 | -331 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 38 | Gray Gaulding | 25 | -335 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Derrike Cope | 15 | -345 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | D.J. Kennington | 1 | -359 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Cody Ware | 1 | -359 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -360 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | Elliott Sadler | 0 | -360 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Joey Gase | 0 | -360 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | JJ Yeley | 0 | -360 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -360 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
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