Johnson earns 76th career Cup win in overtime in Atlanta

“If he’s gonna tie that record, I’m certainly glad I got to run second,” Junior said. “I think my dad would’ve thought the world of him.”

Kevin Harvick led 131 laps, more than anyone else, but ceded the lead after he made his last green-flag pit stop nine laps after Johnson. The No. 48 car made a quicker stop and wound up with about a 14-second lead, then watched it fade away as Harvick gave chase on newer tires.

Harvick was about 5 seconds behind when Ryan Newman cut a tire and spun on the front stretch with three laps to go, bringing out only the second yellow flag of the race. With overtime looming, everyone came to the pits for new tires. Johnson returned to the track still leading, and the victory was his when that crash on the backstretch took out four cars.

Johnson credited crew chief Chad Knaus for calling the early pit stop, a strategy that allowed him to get past Harvick.

“It was definitely a gutsy call,” Johnson said. “The 4 car (Harvick) was awfully tough. It was going to take strategy to get by him.”

For Harvick, it was another Atlanta heartache. He spun his tires on the final restart and wound up a disappointing sixth, hardly indicative of the way he ran most of the race.

Harvick has led more than 100 laps in four of his last five races at the 1.54-mile trioval, but he hasn’t won here since the spring event in 2001 — in just his third race after taking over at Richard Childress Racing following Earnhardt’s death.

The cars set a blistering pace in the first test of a new aerodynamic package designed to promote more competitive racing. The first 210 laps were run under green before a yellow came out for debris on the track.

After the restart, Harvick and Martin Truex went back and forth, exchanging the lead several times before Harvick started to pull away. It was a thrilling display, but in the end it didn’t matter.

Harvick lost the lead in the pits, allowing Johnson to claim his fifth Cup victory in Atlanta.

Kyle Busch, who posted the fastest time in qualifying but had to start from the back of the field after his car failed inspection, rallied to take third — just ahead of his brother Kurt, who inherited the pole after his sibling’s misfortune.

KENSETH PENALTY: Matt Kenseth lost two laps and any chance of winning when his pit crew was penalized for illegal fueling.

NASCAR caught a crew member placing a wedge wrench on the deck lid of the No. 20 car during fueling, a violation of the rule that prohibits the fueler from performing “any adjustments or other pit stop procedures while the fuel can coupler is engaged.”

Kenseth finished 19th.

FILLING IN FOR SMOKE: Ty Dillon had a nondescript day subbing for injured Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car.

Looking to make a good impression a day after his 24th birthday, Dillon finished two laps down in 17th.

Stewart has missed the first two races of his farewell season while recovering from a back injury suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident. It’s not known when he’ll be able to return.

PERFECT WEATHER: Atlanta Motor Speedway didn’t have to pay out for its perfect-weather ticket guarantee.

The weather, indeed, was perfect.

Even though the Atlanta race was held on its earliest date ever — and has perennially been plagued by inclement conditions — the temperature when the green flag waved was an unseasonably warm 64 degrees, with a light breeze and clear blue skies.

The crowd was estimated at 55,000, an increase over the previous year but still a far cry from the track’s glory days.