By Ryan - Posted on March 24, 2010

In his 17th start at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson finally took the checkered flag. It was his 50th career win, and his relief was evident when he said, "We did it, boys -- finally," after crossing the finish line.

Johnson took four tires on his last pit stop at Lap 484, and he restarted 7 laps later on the outside. Most of the cars in front of him had taken only two tires, and he made quick work of them. His last pass was on Tony Stewart, who gave up the lead on Lap 494.

This was Johnson’s third win in the five NASCAR races this year. After the race, he said, “when we're winning at tracks we aren't supposed to, the boys better look out -- even that No. 2 car that doesn't want the No. 48 to win."

Johnson was referring to Kurt Busch, who has taken up the cause of  “Anybody but the 48”. Busch is apparently tired of coming up short to Johnson, saying that “I’d rather lose to any of the 41 cars out there than this 48 car.” After being stuck behind the 2-tire-change cars on the restart, he finished the race in third place.

Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Kenseth’s consistency this season has served him well, as he trails points leader Kevin Harvick by a single point.

Joey Logano, who started the race from the pole, finished 27th after having tire problems early in the race. Crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. fought off a speeding penalty on pit road to finish 7th. He is currently eighth in the Cup standings.

The big loser in this race was veteran Mark Martin. He was caught up in a 13-car pileup on Lap 341, causing him to finish 35th, which moved him down nine spots in the points to 16th.