DARLINGTON, S.C. - Think it's easy changing a tire? Try changing four of them - and a whole lot more - in 12.6 seconds.

Jimmie Johnson's team got him out in front with a fast pit stop 19 laps from the end, then Johnson did the rest to win NASCAR's Nextel Cup race at Darlington Raceway over Bobby Labonte on Sunday.

"The guys were on the money all day long," Johnson said. "And then I just had to deal with Bobby there at the end."

It hasn't always been that way with Johnson's No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team.

Crew chief Chad Knaus said the team had been off some this season, so the crew was working on foot speed, hand-eye coordination and weight training.

"They've been practicing at least twice a day every day that all the guys are at the shop," Knaus said.

The practice paid off in a big way at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

Labonte led by half a straightaway over Kurt Busch when Kyle Petty's engine failed, bringing out a caution flag.

All the leaders pitted for fresh tires and Johnson's team got him out a hair in front of Labonte's No. 18 Chevy.

"It was show time and they really stepped up to the plate and they hit a home run," Knaus said. "That's what this team is so good at. When the money's on the line, they really shine."

Johnson's not so bad in those situations, either. He kept the lead after the green flag came out on lap 283, then withstood a final caution period when Tony Stewart bumped rookie Kasey Kahne from behind and sent him sliding through turns three and four.

When the race restarted with only four laps left, it looked like it might turn out like last year's event, when Ricky Craven nipped Busch by inches in a bumping, fender-banging finish.

Labonte, who won the Southern 500 here in 2000, gave it a good try, but couldn't quite catch the leader, finishing 0.132 seconds - about two car lengths - behind.

Could Labonte have pulled ahead with one more lap?

"I don't know," he said. "If we had one more lap, we might have gotten beat for second. So you never know. We were pretty good."

Knaus and Johnson said the pit crew was more consistent here than they had been. Knaus said they had had three straight pit stops in an incredible 12.6 seconds. Johnson also said he had a clean line in and out of the pits, saving him precious tenths of seconds.

For Johnson, it was the seventh victory of his Cup career and first on NASCAR's oldest superspeedway. It also was the 10th Darlington victory for team owner Rick Hendrick, tying him for the track record with retired Junior Johnson.

"I knew he was coming," Johnson said of Labonte. "I knew I had to protect the high side. He got inside me a couple of times, but, luckily, I had momentum."

Labonte said it was harder to pass all day on the narrow egg-shaped oval, made even tighter by the recent installation of the impact-cushioning SAFER barriers on the outside walls in the turns and the front straightaway. That took 30 inches from the racing groove along the outside wall.

Ryan Newman finished third, followed by Robby Gordon, Elliott Sadler and Busch.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had to make up a lap and struggled with handling throughout. He still managed a 10th-place finish and jumped past Stewart into second in the standings, trailing leader Matt Kenseth by 21 points.

Kenseth came in with four top-10 finishes, including two wins, in as many starts this season, but had a bad day Sunday, finishing 31st. Last year's champion was running in the top 10 when he got sideways and was hit from behind by Ricky Rudd, igniting a six-car accident on lap 161.

He came through the accident with little damage, but Kenseth was then hit with a one-lap penalty for passing cars under the caution flag, and later lost more ground when he pitted under green because he thought a tire was going flat.