Jimmie Johnson Wins Martinsville

March 29, 2009 by RacingWin
Filed under: Jimmie Johnson

Johnson Tops at Martinsville — Again

Martinsville Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson moved Denny Hamlin up the race track with 15 laps to go Sunday afternoon at Martinsville to take the lead. It was a lead Johnson would never give up.

Johnson beat 2^nd place Hamlin to the finish line by .774 seconds.

After the race Johnson was asked if he would have liked to have been passed the same way he passed Hamlin.

“I got in there alongside of him and he kept coming down to go to the inside line, Johnson said of the race winning pass of Hamlin. ” We made some contact. I think I went up over the curb. We were both sideways. Fortunately nobody tore anything up. It’s really tough, short track racing.”

“Chad hates the beard, so I’m going to keep it as long as I can because I know he hates it.” ~ Jimmie Johnson

Denny Hamlin should have been upset with the way he was raced by Johnson – but he wasn’t. “It’s short-track racing-that’s all the fans could ask for right there,” said Hamlin, last year’s winner of this event. “If the roles were reversed, I’d do the same thin. Believe me, I will if it ever comes back around.”

This win also means that Jimmie’s beard is not a jinx after all. He plans to keep it. “Chad hates the beard, so I’m going to keep it as long as I can because I know he hates it,” said Johnson. ”My grandmother hates it. I don’t like to make her mad, but it’s fun to have her complain to me.”

All 4 of Hendrick Motorsports cars finished in the top 8. Hendrick’s 2 affiliated cars of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman also finished in the top 8.

The win came o the 25th Anniversary of Hendrick’s first win. “It doesn’t seem like it’s been 25 years, but when you look back over some of the milestones of the people that have driven the cars, it does seem like it’s been a long time” said Rick Hendrick. “It’s really unbelievable to think that we’ve been fortunate enough to win the championships and the races. And I’ve been very fortunate with the drivers that we’ve had, but I’m just amazed that I’m still in it.”

Photo Courtesy Hendrick Motorsports