Johnson wins it on fuel mileage

Crew chief makes correct call in pits

AVONDALE, ARIZ. -- Jimmie Johnson gave Hendrick Motorsports its first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the year, winning a fuel gamble Saturday night at Phoenix International Speedway.

As leader after leader dove for the pits to take on gas in the waning laps, Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet stayed on track and the two-time reigning Cup champion made it to the finish, beating Clint Bowyer -- another gambler -- by 7.002 seconds.

Forty-nine-year-old Mark Martin, now a part-time driver in the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 8, battled at the front with its former driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., for a lot of the 312-lap race on the mile oval.

And it appeared Martin had his first win since 2005 locked up after he passed Earnhardt for the win on lap 272 and began to pull away, building leads of more than a second. But, with the end in sight, Martin was called into the pits on lap 301, giving up the top spot to Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet.

With crew chief Chad Knaus telling him to keep conserving gas and that he had a big enough lead to slow down and save more, Johnson stayed on track and stayed in front to the end.

"I ran out of gas on the backstretch," Johnson said, grinning. But he still had enough left for a celebratory burnout after taking the checkered flag.

"We're back. We've been working very hard to get back. I couldn't be more proud of the folks back at Hendrick Motorsports."

We got out off cycle and got a little behind there and had to drive to front, and still wound up saving gas at the end," Johnson said.

Knaus said he messed up at one point in the race, leaving Johnson on track when the other leaders pitted, said he knew his driver was doing a good job of saving gas.

"When the (No.) 07 (Bowyer) was behind us and he was about 10 seconds back, I knew we had it," Knaus said.

Denny Hamlin, who did pit, finished third, followed by Carl Edwards, Martin, Jeff Burton and Earnhardt.

SAFETY FIRST: There has been a debate for years over whether NASCAR should follow the example of the open-wheel series and the NHRA and have a full-time safety team instead of relying on local medical personnel at each of its racetracks.

Asked about it this week, Jeff Burton said he thinks NASCAR's system is working just fine.

"I'm not one of those people that believes ... that I have to look at a familiar face to get good care, that I have to look at a familiar face to have a competent person doing the job," said Burton, one of the most outspoken and articulate drivers in NASCAR.

NASCAR does employ four doctors full-time as medical liaisons who work with the tracks to see that the medical coverage is as effective as possible when it is needed.

"I do think we have to have a group of people that understand all the little nuances that go with us every week, but I don't believe that every single person needs to be with us every week," Burton said.

NOTES: Among the celebrities on hand for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 were Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who acted as the Grand Marshall; basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry, the honorary pace car driver; skiing champion Bode Miller; and IndyCar star Danica Patrick. ... The green flag used to start the race previously flew for one day over the 447th Air Expeditionary Group of the U.S. Force in Baghdad.