TALLADEGA, Ala. – Poor Jamie McMurray. The driver of the No. 26 IRWIN Marathon Ford hadn't won a Sprint Cup race since July 2007 before Sunday's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. But his victory, which snapped an 86-race winless streak, was overshadowed by a last-lap crash that ended the race under caution. The 13-car accident all but wrapped up a fourth championship for Jimmie Johnson as it took out both Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, his closest points competitors. The Big One happened just behind Johnson and allowed him to finish in sixth place. He'll head to Texas for Sunday's Dickies 500 with a 184-point lead over Martin and 192 over Gordon. No one in NASCAR history has made up that deficit with three races remaining. "I do feel better than a race win with today's finish," said Johnson, who is bidding to become the first driver to win four consecutive Sprint Cup titles. "From where we were during the red flag to where we finished, I'm still in shock. I can't believe it worked out." It took the perfect storm of events to turn what could have been a competitive points race heading to Texas Motor Speedway into another long victory lap for Johnson. Drivers were told before the race by NASCAR president Mike Helton there would be penalties for bump drafting in turns. The drivers seemed to heed the warning, which led to a boring 180 laps of mostly single-file racing. But in the final stretch, it became typical Talladega with two big crashes. The first changed fate for Johnson, who ran as far back as 33rd and was in 26th before a five-car crash resulted in Ryan Newman flipping and landing upside down. That accident led to a red flag that lasted nearly 13 minutes, but Johnson pitted before the red flag. That proved pivotal as Martin and Gordon stayed out and were forced to pit after. That left them in the back of the pack in the tri-oval – the wrong place to be when the Big One started, sweeping up Martin and Gordon. Gordon finished 20th, Martin 28th. "I'm kind of glad we ran out [of gas] when we did," said Gordon, who was pushed to the pits just to fuel for the finish. "We were at least able to get out there and destroy our car." The wild ending took some of the luster off McMurray's third career victory that also enhanced the résumé for the driver who will be a free agent after this year. McMurray was one of 25 drivers to lead at least a lap Sunday, and the 31 he led were the most of any driver. "As soon as I crossed the start-finish line, I shut the engine off and pushed the clutch in and coasted around as far as I could," McMurray said. "What an exciting day." Especially if you're the driver heading to Texas with a huge points lead. "I'm good with that," Johnson said. "It's a good number."
