Johnson’s Gamble Pays Off

Jimmie Johnson gambled on fuel and made it. Ditto for points leader Matt Kenseth. Jeff Gordon’s strategy was a disaster, and all the right calls Dale Earnhardt Jr. made meant little to the big picture.

Johnson proved to be an expert fuel strategist Sunday, conserving his gas to win at New Hampshire International Speedway at Loudon, in a race that widened Kenseth’s hold on the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings.

Johnson stretched his final tank of gas for 93 laps, then carefully conserved the fuel after taking the lead in the New England 300. He had to keep a close eye on his fuel gauge to ensure that he had enough to hold off Kevin Harvick at the finish in a battle of Chevrolets.

“I think some strategy played into it at the end with us gambling we had enough gas to finish it,” Johnson said.

“After I took the lead, I had to look in my mirror the rest of the way while I conserved fuel and kept an eye on whoever was second,” he said.

The victory was the second this year for Johnson and the fifth of his two-year career and, for Chevrolet, the 400th overall.

Kenseth -- also cutting it close on gas -- finished third to extend his lead in the championship race to 234 points over Jeff Gordon. It’s Kenseth’s largest margin since he took over the lead in early March.

Ryan Newman finished fourth in a Dodge and Robby Gordon was fifth in a Chevrolet.

Earnhardt finished sixth and maintained the third spot in the points standings, 273 points behind Kenseth.

Jeff Gordon, who easily had the best car for most of the day and led a race-high 133 laps, finished 24th.

He didn’t pit for gas when his teammate Johnson did. That meant he had to stop later, which ended up slower than most because he changed all the tires instead of getting a gas-and-go.

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Rubens Barrichello’s first victory this season had a familiar and bizarre twist.

The Ferrari driver started from the pole but had to rally to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, England, ending the recent dominance of Williams-BMW in a race that was disrupted on the 12th lap when a man ran onto the track.

Barrichello, who three years ago won the German Grand Prix after a protester walked on the track, finished 5.4 seconds ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams-BMW.

On Sunday, drivers were forced to swerve around the unidentified 56-year-old man, who was wearing a kilt and carrying a sign. The man was on the track for about 20 seconds before being dragged off by security guards.

Barrichello became the seventh winner in 11 Formula One races this season. It was his sixth career victory.

Montoya finished second for the third consecutive race, Kimi Raikkonen was third in a McLaren-Mercedes and Michael Schumacher was fourth.

Schumacher leads Raikkonen, 69 points to 62, with five races left. Montoya is third with 55.

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Larry Dixon clocked a pass of 4.737 seconds at 313.15 mph to defeat Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel final at the NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Morrison, Colo.

John Force earned his first Funny Car victory this season and 107th of his career by defeating Cruz Pedregon with a pass of 5.044 at 289.45.

Warren Johnson got his 91st career victory when he defeated Jeg Coughlin in the Pro Stock final.

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Longtime Dixie Speedway official Corey Haney died after he was hit by a race car under caution Saturday night at the Woodstock, Ga., venue. He was 42.