Dominant
INDIANAPOLIS — Startled awake by an earsplitting fireworks blast at 6 a.m., then annoyed by an early morning sound check session by the band that was playing the prerace show, Jimmie Johnson's day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway didn't exactly get off to a winning start.
It ended just fine, though — with Johnson making plenty of noise of his own.
Johnson stamped another exclamation point on his racing resume Sunday, a dominant drive that ended with his fourth career Brickyard 400 victory.
Afterward, Johnson was able to laugh about how annoyed he was by the aerial bomb blast that signaled to fans that the track's gates were open — so annoyed, in fact, that he complained about it with a post on his Twitter account.
“I thought the motorhome next to me blew up,” Johnson said. “I was looking for a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. I guess getting up earlier than I wanted to let me prepare for the day and get ready.”
Johnson said he got over it quickly, and that he respects that the big boom is part of the track's tradition.
And he'd better respect Indy tradition, because he's now a big part of it.
With the win, Johnson joined Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon as the only NASCAR drivers to win four times at the historic 2.5-mile track, which has hosted stock car racing since 1994.
