MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Jimmie Johnson didn't have the car most suited for restarts, and he found himself in a two-lap sprint against the guy who might have.

In another sign that this may be the year that the teams of Hendrick Motorsports can't be touched, Johnson still came away with the victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, his spot in front protected by the last of a race-record 21 caution flags.

"Those last restarts were tough on me," Johnson said after holding off a stiff challenge by Ryan Newman before being rescued. He earned his third consecutive victory on the 0.526-mile oval, the shortest and trickiest in Nextel Cup racing.

With Newman on his bumper, the two-lap dash was halted halfway by the final caution of the day — the one that kept the Hendrick domination going.

Combined, Johnson and Jeff Gordon have now won eight of the last 10 events at Martinsville, and this victory moved Johnson closer in the Chase for the championship. With four races remaining, he trails Gordon by 53 points and, as Gordon said, has supplanted the four-time series champion as the man to beat in southwest Virginia.

"He's Mr. Martinsville," Gordon said. "That guy is unbelievable here."

Johnson, who has four victories at Martinsville to Gordon's seven, said he's not ready to accept the title.

"I saw something where Richard Petty won how many?" he said of NASCAR's career victories leader at the track with 15. "That's Mr. Martinsville. That's the king."

It certainly looks like Johnson is a candidate to be next best.

Johnson got on the road to victory by making the pass he didn't allow Gordon to make in the spring, sneaking inside Gordon with 44 laps to go in regulation and holding on for his series-high seventh victory of the year and the 30th of his career.