Jimmie Johnson wins at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Jimmy Johnson, starting from the fourth position, won Sunday's Subway 500 Nextel Cup auto race.

Johnson's No.48 Chevrolet crossed the finish line at Martinsville, Va., ahead of Ryan Newman after a green-white-checker finish ended with the last of 30 caution flags.

"The longer the run, the slicker the track gets the better I am," Johnson said.

"That's what hurt me at the end. The No.12 and the No.24 were really good on the short runs."

Kyle Busch, pole-winner and teammate Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth completed the Top 5.

Johnson cut Gordon's lead to 53 points in the "Chase for the Nextel Cup." Gordon has 6,040 points and Johnson has 5,997.

Clint Bowyer, who finished ninth, is third with 5,940 points. Tony Stewart is fourth with 5,806 points, and Carl Edwards, with 5,770 points, is fifth.

The next race is the Pep Boys Auto 500 next Sunday at Hampton, Ga.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International