INDIANAPOLIS — Jimmie Johnson refused to blink. Let ageless Mark Martin push him to the limit. Let the pressure mount and the risk grow. He had clean air, a fast car and the will of a two-time NASCAR champion. For Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, that was just enough.

Johnson edged the 50-year-old Martin by less than half a second to win for the second straight year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and third time overall. That moved him up one spot to second in the Chase for the Cup standings and solidified his prospects for a fourth driver's championship.

"We're doing things right," he said. "The last four to five weeks we had chances to win and kept coming up short. It's getting close to the Chase, it's time to buckle down and get a fourth (championship)."

Johnson is to late-season surges what Roger Federer is to winning major tennis titles. Nobody does it better. Martin has a term for it.

"I got beat by Superman," he said.

Superman led the last 24 laps after passing Martin from the final double file restart then refusing to flinch when Martin attacked en route to his 43rd Sprint Cup victory. He matched his Brickyard victories from 2006 and last year. He's the first driver to win consecutive Brickyard 400s.

"His cape doesn't get tangled around his neck much," Martin said.

In other words, Johnson doesn't choke. He also doesn't pass on praising his first-year Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

"I'll call (Martin) the bionic man," he said. "(Darn) is he fast. For an old guy he had me worried. Those last 15 laps we had to drive it so hard. He put a ton of pressure on us."

Martin just missed becoming the oldest man to ever win at the Speedway.

"You look at the way he is, what he asks of his team," Johnson said. "It's contagious. He brings out the best in all of us. He makes us wonder how we can do a better job. The guy is non-stop. He is one unique individual."

In the final, furious laps, the fact Johnson and Martin were teammates was a non-issue. This wasn't the Tour de France. It was every man for himself. So Martin surged and Johnson blocked. As the end neared, Martin raced on the edge, then a little bit past it.

"I made some great runs," he said. "I went beyond my good judgment to make those runs. I really thought I'd hit the wall. I can't believe I didn't hit the wall. I couldn't go any faster."

Johnson countered by weaving to create rough air to slow down Martin.

"I wanted to let the raw air hit him," Johnson said. "I couldn't make a mistake and give him an opportunity. I was trying to protect and nail it."

Martin would have done the protecting if he could have won the last restart.

"I got a reasonable start, but I never got quite clear of him and he got side draft," Martin said. "I needed another three feet to clear him. If I had done that, the race would have been on."

Johnson didn't seem much of a threat after his 16th place qualifying position. But adjustments Saturday turned that around. Now he rivals points leader Tony Stewart as the biggest championship threat.

"I hope it makes people in the other garages think and wonder and worry," Johnson said.

Johnson's opportunity came after Juan Pablo Montoya, who had dominated most of the race (leading 116 of the first 124 laps), was penalized for excessive speeding entering pit road. He led a record 59 consecutive laps.

When it mattered most Sunday, Johnson was fastest and, perhaps, least sympathetic.

"I didn't run around (Montoya) all day long, but I do know I have the trophy," he said.

Allstate 400 at The Brickyard Results

1. (16) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 160 laps, 128 rating, 190 points, $448,001.

2. (1) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 160, 128.9, 175, $336,350.

3. (7) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 160, 114, 170, $314,573.

4. (12) Greg Biffle, Ford, 160, 108.4, 160, $282,000.

5. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 160, 114.4, 160, $256,548.

6. (19) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 160, 94.3, 150, $246,253.

7. (8) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 160, 98.6, 146, $234,548.

8. (5) David Reutimann, Toyota, 160, 98.8, 142, $220,848.

9. (22) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 160, 91.1, 138, $222,376.

10. (25) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 160, 80.8, 134, $225,065.

11. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 160, 131.7, 140, $224,048.

12. (18) Joey Logano, Toyota, 160, 79, 127, $216,101.

13. (9) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 160, 85.1, 124, $202,851.

14. (17) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 160, 80.4, 121, $190,979.

15. (41) Carl Edwards, Ford, 160, 70.7, 118, $209,406.

16. (21) David Stremme, Dodge, 160, 70.6, 115, $194,290.

17. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 160, 69.8, 112, $195,115.

18. (10) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 160, 81.1, 109, $167,025.

19. (27) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 160, 63.8, 111, $177,525.

20. (33) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 160, 61.9, 103, $158,675.

21. (24) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 160, 57, 100, $164,125.

22. (11) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 160, 67.7, 97, $169,248.

23. (31) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 160, 53.3, 94, $182,454.

24. (29) David Ragan, Ford, 160, 56.2, 91, $160,425.

25. (38) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 159, 63.5, 88, $195,731.

26. (4) Bill Elliott, Ford, 159, 79.7, 85, $148,625.

27. (40) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 159, 51.7, 82, $164,375.

28. (32) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 159, 48.4, 79, $167,135.

29. (28) Paul Menard, Ford, 158, 41.2, 76, $177,781.

30. (37) David Gilliland, Chevrolet, 158, 41.9, 78, $144,850.

31. (26) Scott Speed, Toyota, 157, 42.1, 70, $155,898.

32. (35) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 156, 38.1, 67, $152,325.

33. (43) Terry Labonte, Toyota, 154, 33.5, 64, $144,025.

34. (14) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 144, 69.6, 61, $160,775.

35. (23) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, engine, 139, 47, 58, $150,525.

36. (3) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, engine, 127, 85.5, 55, $162,925.

37. (15) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 118, 62.4, 52, $161,110.

38. (20) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 112, 68.5, 49, $190,048.

39. (36) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 108, 27.1, 46, $142,125.

40. (42) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 45, 27, 43, $150,050.

41. (39) Mike Skinner, Toyota, transmission, 35, 27.9, 40, $141,925.

42. (34) Dave Blaney, Toyota, brakes, 23, 30.8, 37, $141,825.

43. (30) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, brakes, 21, 30.4, 34, $142,216.

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 145.882 mph.

Time of Race: 2 hours, 44 minutes, 31 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 0.400 seconds.

Caution Flags: 3 for 14 laps.

Lead Changes: 9 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders: M.Martin 1-4; J.Montoya 5-30; T.Stewart 31-32; D.Gilliland 33; J.Montoya 34-92; C.Mears 93; J.Montoya 94-124; B.Vickers 125-126; M.Martin 127-136; J.Johnson 137-160.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): J.Montoya, 3 times for 116 laps; J.Johnson, 1 time for 24 laps; M.Martin, 2 times for 14 laps; T.Stewart, 1 time for 2 laps; B.Vickers, 1 time for 2 laps; C.Mears, 1 time for 1 lap; D.Gilliland, 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in Points: 1. T.Stewart, 3,054; 2. J.Johnson, 2,862; 3. J.Gordon, 2,847; 4. Ku.Busch, 2,608; 5. C.Edwards, 2,556; 6. D.Hamlin, 2,518; 7. R.Newman, 2,506; 8. K.Kahne, 2,482; 9. M.Martin, 2,471; 10. J.Montoya, 2,461; 11. G.Biffle, 2,445; 12. M.Kenseth, 2,429.

NASCAR Driver Rating Formula

A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race. The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.

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