Jimmie Johnson celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Jimmie Johnson celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Jimmie Johnson (48) does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Jimmie Johnson (48) takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Jimmie Johnson celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Jimmie Johnson (48) drives his car along the front stretch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Johnson won the race. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) ? Cross another milestone off of Jimmie Johnson's list. He stands alone in All-Star history.
"Five-time" became the first four-time winner of NASCAR's annual All-Star race, breaking a tie with the late Dale Earnhardt and teammate Jeff Gordon on Saturday night.
"To beat Jeff and Earnhardt, two guys that I have looked up to my whole life, two massive icons of our sport, this means the world to me," Johnson said.
It was fitting that he did it at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the track Johnson, the five-time NASCAR champion, has dominated since his 2002 rookie season.
This win in the $1 million Sprint All-Star Race was his second straight and fourth in 12 years. He also won in 2003 and 2006.
"The only four-time All-Star champion ? I am very proud of you," crew chief Chad Knaus radioed after Johnson took the checkered flag.
A day after Johnson overshot his pit stall during qualifying to earn a poor starting spot, his Hendrick Motorsports crew changed four tires in 11 seconds on the mandatory final spot to send Johnson back onto the track in second place for the final restart.
He lined up inside of teammate Kasey Kahne for the final 10-lap sprint to the cash, and the two battled side-by-side for a little more than a lap before Johnson cleared Kahne completely. He then sailed away to an easy victory.
Joey Logano finished second and Kyle Busch, who won two of the first four segments, was third as neither had a shot at running down Johnson once he got his No. 48 Chevrolet out front.
"The 48, once he got that clean air, he was gone," Logano said. "Second isn't anything to hang your head, but it's about the million bucks tonight."
Kahne faded to fourth and Kurt Busch, who also won two segments to give the Busch brothers a sweep, was fifth.
It was disappointing for both Busch brothers, who had the cars to beat through the first 80 laps. New scoring rules designed to stop sandbagging sent the drivers onto pit road for the mandatory final stop in order of their average finish in the first four segments.
The Busch brothers tied with an average finish of 2.0, and Kurt went down pit road as the leader based on the tiebreaker of winning the final segment.
But the two Hendrick cars beat everybody off pit road, Kyle Busch exited in third and a poor final pit stop dropped Kurt to fifth.
"Ultimately, it came down to pit road, where my guys always prove their worth," Kyle Busch said. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the best of stops and to come out third, well, that was the race right there. You have to be on the front row if you're going to win this thing."
Johnson didn't think he had a shot at winning the All-Star race after botching his qualifying run and starting 20th in the 22-car field. By staying patient through the four 20-lap segments, he was in position at the end to make his move.
"Worked our way through there and got the job done," Johnson said. "It's just dedication and drive from every member of this Hendrick Motorsports team."
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