By Ryan - Posted on July 29, 2009

Back to back, and for the third time in four years, NASCAR news reports that Jimmie Johnson has won the Brickyard 400.  In a race that was not without intrigue, the #48 Chevy crossed the most famous three feet of brick at least two car lengths ahead of second place finisher Mark Martin.  Complimentary as always, and proving that he has a sense of humor, Johnson said of his teammate, “Geez, was he fast.  For an old guy, he had me pretty worried.”  Martin turned 50 in the offseason and is breaking records of his own on the Sprint Cup circuit, tallying more multiple victories than any other driver that age.

This is the first time that anyone has won back to back victories at the storied track.  Johnson credited track conditions with his win, created by his position on a restart with 24 laps to go.  “Clean air was everything.  You could only get so close to the car in front of you...I got that restart and put on a great show for the fans. I hope they enjoyed it," Johnson told reporters in victory lane.  This was his 43rd trip there since his career began.

The day however was not without controversy.  Juan Pablo Montoya had the dominant car of the day, racking up a full 4 second lead on the field when he was penalized for speeding on pit road at lap 125.  For his part, Montoya denies that he was speeding.  He said, “I swear on my children and my wife, I was not speeding.  You know, I was being very conscious of that, you know what I mean?  I've been robbed before, I've been screwed before, but [NASCAR] overdid themselves this week."  These are of course typical comments of a driver who has a beef with NASCAR’s officiating.  Felix Sabates reprimanded Montoya in his native language, Spanish, and acknowledged that NASCAR had clocked him at 60 mph on two segments of the pit lane.

While frustrating, NASCAR has a duty to uphold the letter of the law when it comes to pit road infractions.  All rules governing that conduct are made in the name of safety, both to drivers and pit crews.  This is what makes NASCAR the safest motorsports operation in the world, and is why those rules must be followed, even though it may mean losing a race because of it.