Johnson proves to be lucky bet in Vegas

LAS VEGAS - One hundred miles into Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Jimmie Johnson figured his odds on winning were about as good as hitting on 16 in a hand of blackjack and not busting.

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The way he finished the final 300 miles, however, was a reminder that anything can happen in Las Vegas. And contrary to the city's slogan, what happened in Vegas doesn't have to stay in Vegas.

Johnson's Chevrolet couldn't find traction on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway early in the race, but a series of adjustments - many of them done during one of the race-record 10 caution periods - finally got his car headed in the right direction.

He also rallied from a bizarre mishap on pit road that cost him 20 positions when a lug nut bounced off the pavement and back into its original place on the wheel stud. That prevented his pit crew from replacing the tire.

"I've never seen anything like that happen," Johnson said. "I had to watch the replay to see if that really happened. What are the odds?"

Every time Johnson got shuffled out of the top 20, he marched back to the front. And when he got there the last time with 55 laps to go, he stayed there to finish 100 yards ahead of rookie Kyle Busch.

"That was a great performance by Hendrick Motorsports," Johnson said after winning his fifth race in the last nine starts dating back to the 2004 season. "We had to stay working on the car. Chad (Knaus, crew chief) made some adjustments and we finally hit on something. The cautions helped me. We needed the cautions to work on the car. It gave us the opportunity to win the race."

Although Johnson's car flunked post-race inspection - it was too low - and the second-place car was too high, both were allowed to keep their positions in the final rundown. Both teams, however, might face penalties this week.

The victory, coupled with Jeff Gordon's season-opening win at Daytona, gave car owner Rick Hendrick two wins in the first three races.

"I just did everything I could to stay in front of (Kyle Busch)," Johnson said. "He was hungry at his home track."

Busch, who finished second in the NASCAR Busch Series a year ago, graduated from a Las Vegas high school just two years ago. Older brother Kurt Busch finished third, followed by Gordon in fourth and Kevin Harvick in fifth.