by Lee Spencer

And with Jimmie Johnson holding a record-high 149-point lead with four races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the No. 48 team's competition could use those Tums about now.

"It's getting closer," said Johnson, who can clinch the title with finishes of fourth or better in the remaining four races. "It's still not time. As long as I can hold 'em off and worry about winning races, the better."

But Johnson had nothing to worry about on Sunday.

Given his penchant for Martinsville Speedway, where he has four career Sprint Cup victories in 13 starts going into this weekend, and NASCAR awarding the points leader pole position and the choice of pit stalls whenever qualifying is rained out — like it was this past Friday — and a kindergartner could have predicted the first-class butt kicking the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team put on the field Sunday afternoon.

Johnson led 339 of 504 laps — a career-high total circuits led on any track — on the way to his sixth win of the season and 39th of his career.

"We were going for maximum points and we did that today," Johnson said. "We had a great pit stall and great pit stops. We kept track position on our side, and I was really able to race to the lead and with the leaders and work on that situation there.

"There were times when I overworked the brakes and overworked the tires and we weren't as strong as we wanted to be in the long haul, but the car was good in the short haul, and thankfully it ended up that way at the end and I could get away from those guys."

Johnson's closest competition for the title entering the race — Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle — never factored into the event. Biffle remained on the track during pit stops on Lap 165 to gain points but was forced to pit out of sequence during the green flag run on Lap 246 and went a lap down. He recovered with a 12th-place finish.

Burton had a top-15 car for most of the day but was busted on pit road for stopping outside his box on Lap 461. Burton was charged a drive-thru penalty two laps later and restarted 18th, one lap down, with 33 laps to go. He finished one lap down, was scored 17th and dropped to third in points, 152 markers behind Johnson.

With the struggles his title rivals faced, Johnson could simply coast to the finish after the final round of pit stops. Instead, he extended his lead by more than two seconds. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, was able to pass Carl Edwards before the final pit stop and mounted late charges, but even with the aid of two cautions that bunched up the field, neither he nor Edwards was able to catch Johnson.

"There was no way NASCAR was gonna let this thing go green to the end," Earnhardt said. "They always throw a caution at the end of the race to bunch up the field and get the fans back in it."

While Earnhardt, who is ninth in the standings, is not a factor in the Chase, Edwards, who finished third on Sunday and trails Johnson by 198 points, feels there's still a glimmer of hope.

"For us, this is almost a win," said Edwards, who scored just one top-10 in eight starts prior to Sunday. "We've never run this well here, so that was good for us. It's just Jimmie is doing an unbelievable job. We obviously had some misfortune last week that really made this race important.

"I felt like we could come here, and if we ran like we did today, that it keeps our hopes alive. And if we didn't, it would really put us in a hole, so it's a great day for us."

The competitor in Edwards refuses to concede the title to Johnson with four opportunities remaining in the Chase, particularly next week's venue Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he has scored two wins, four top-fives and six top-10s in eight starts.

"He could have any sort of trouble at the next two races and be right back there with us with all these guys that are kind of bunched together," Edwards said. "It looked like all of us were within 40-50 points second through fourth, maybe, so it could happen to anyone.

"We saw what happened with Kyle (Busch) and his team. Those guys seemed unbeatable, but they just had the bad luck — like what happened to us last week. We still don't know exactly what happened — just some sort of gremlin in the electrical system, so, no, this isn't over until the last lap at Homestead, that's for sure."

For Edwards or any other Chase contender that believes they can stop Johnson, it might just be wishful thinking.

"There's something special going on with this race team," Johnson said. "And I'll keep riding that wave as long as it's up."

The old Mr. Martinsville

Fourth-place finisher Jeff Gordon led 57 laps and scored his eighth consecutive top-five at Martinsville, but a win this season still eludes the four-time Sprint Cup Series champion.

Gordon remains winless in 2008, but he looked strong throughout Sunday's race at Martinsville. (Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)

"I love top-fives, but we're still looking for a win," said Gordon, whose winless streak rose to 37 races. "I thought we had something for them. Just kind of trying to keep ourselves in position."

Gordon took the lead for the third and final time from Johnson five laps into the longest green flag run of the day between laps 267 and 382. After riding the point for 19 laps, Johnson regained the lead and held it for the next 171 laps.

Gordon radioed he was in trouble on Lap 325 just before Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt would pass him on consecutives laps.

"That one long run really hurt us because we got so loose off," Gordon added. "Made a great call by (crew chief) Steve Letarte there at the end to take two tires and end up fourth.

"What an amazing day for Hendrick Motorsports. First, second, fourth and I think sixth with Casey (Mears), so a great day. Jimmie, Chad and those guys are tough to beat, especially with that No. 1 pit stall. You don't want to give anything like that to them and make it any easier. They're unbelievable here."

Gordon moved to seventh in the point standings, 275 points behind Johnson.

Tiresome track

The Tums QuikPak 500 was rife with right front tire blow-outs on Sunday.

For many competitors, including Chasers Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch, blown tires forced multiple unscheduled pit stops.

Busch started ninth and experienced his first problem with his right front tire on Lap 163, again on Lap 350 and again on Lap 462.

While a press release from the team claimed Busch "cut" three right front tires, Busch didn't sound convinced.

"We just can't seem to catch a break," said Busch, who has finished 29th. "The first part of the race, I couldn't get the car stopped like I wanted it to, and it was too tight in the center of the corner.

"I have no idea what caused all the right-front tire problems for us, but we just need to take a look at it further and find out why, so it doesn't happen again."

Tire specialists in the garage said the likely reason for the failures stemmed from the beads melting due to low air pressure.

Not ready for prime time?

Forget the rumors. Joe Gibbs Racing still plans to have Joey Logano drive the No. 20 Camry in 2009. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images)

Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs says there's no validity that the company might delay Joey Logano's rookie season in Sprint Cup.

Despite a slow Cup start with finishes of 32nd and 39th at Loudon and Kansas, respectively, Gibbs says he's relying on the recommendation of crew chief Greg Zipadelli and others in the organization feel that Logano's "been ready."

"That's not an issue and never has been for our guys," Gibbs said. "He's the guy. Home Depot is on board. We're on board. Hey, it's not going to be easy. He's got a learning curve. But we went through the same thing with Denny (Hamlin). The difference is no one paid attention to Denny. You just put him in there and he goes. He had less experience than Joey had. So we've been here before. Look at Tony (Stewart). He had never been in a Cup race or a Cup car testing.

"We're at peace. It's not easy. It's a hard sport. But I think next year and for the long haul, he's the right guy for it and we need to start the process."

Logano will attempt to qualify the No. 02 Home Depot Camry at Atlanta on Friday. Wally Brown will continue his role as crew chief.