Jimmie Johnson has won one of NASCAR's most thrilling races of all-time as eight cars crossed the finish line almost simultaneously.
The five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion used a push from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and edged out Clint Bowyer to win the Aaron's 499, his second victory at the Talladega Superspeedway. Jeff Gordon finished third, followed by Earnhardt, Bowyer's drafting partner Kevin Harvick, Roush-Fenway teammates Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, and Gordon's wingman Mark Martin.
Johnson's margin over Bowyer was .002 seconds, while the margin between Johnson and Martin, the race winner and eighth-place finisher, was .145 seconds. The margin of victory ties the record for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' closest finish, when Ricky Craven nipped Kurt Busch at Darlington in 2003.
It had been 15 races since Johnson's last win, at Dover last September, and this is the 54th win of his career.
Carl Edwards unnofficially maintains the point lead by five over Johnson.