March 20--Jimmie Johnson pulled away on an overtime restart to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
It was the six-time champion's 77th career victory, which lifted him past the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. to seventh on Cup series' all-time wins list.
The victory also extended Johnson's record performance at the two-mile Fontana track. He's now the only driver to win six Cup races at Auto Club Speedway.
"I knew we had a great car," Johnson said of his No. 48 Chevrolet in Victory Lane. "We just saved our best for last, for sure."
Kevin Harvick finished second, Denny Hamlin was third and Joey Logano finished fourth.
Harvick was cruising toward his second consecutive win when Kyle Busch's No. 18 Toyota blew a tire with only two laps remaining, bringing out the caution flag and setting up the two-lap overtime restart.
Just past the midway point, Danica Patrick walked away from a hard crash after her No. 10 Chevrolet was clipped by Kasey Kahne's No. 5 Chevy as they raced at nearly 200 mph on the front straightaway.
The contact sent Patrick's car slamming into the outside wall, with the car briefly coming off the ground. After stopping on the infield grass, Patrick climbed from her car, walked back to the track and held her arms out -- as if to say "What did you do?" -- as Kahne slowly passed by her again under caution.
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