THROWBACK: Jimmie Johnson Leads 99 Laps to Win 2012 Brickyard 400

Published 07/31/2021, 1:30 PM EDT

Back in 2012, Jimmie Johnson seized victory during the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Around that time, the then Hendrick Motorsports driver started the race from the sixth position. It is also worth mentioning that Johnson drove his iconic #48, Chevrolet, to Victory Lane after leading a race-high 99 laps.

The 7-time Cup Series champion snatched the lead for the first time on Lap 30. From there, he dueled with several other drivers, trading the lead on multiple occasions.

Finally, on lap 141, Jimmie Johnson elected to stop toying with the field and cleared away during the final restart. In the process, he romped to an astounding 4.758-second victory.

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On this day in #NASCAR history, @JimmieJohnson scored a crown jewel victory after leading 99 laps in the 2012 #Brickyard400 @IMS! 🏆 #TBT pic.twitter.com/htiQ9aRy1Q
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) July 29, 2021

With this, Johnson joined his then-teammate and former champion, Jeff Gordon, on four wins at Indianapolis. Though it is worth mentioning that Gordon went on to grab a fifth win at The Brickyard.

On a more global scale, Johnson has tied for second with AJ. Foyt, Rick Mears, and Al Unser. Meanwhile, Gordon is tied for first with Formula One legend, Michael Schumacher.

Jimmie Johnson was thrilled with the victory

“This fourth (win), I’m able to join racing legends, my heroes, people I’ve looked up to my entire life, so to join them is a huge, huge honor,” said Johnson.

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Right behind Johnson was Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch, with Greg Biffle in third. Rounding out the Top 5 were Dale Earnhardt Jr and Gordon himself, with the final Hendrick car down in 12th. Dale Jr’s fourth-place ensured that he remained on top of the championship standings.

It also helped that Matt Kenseth crashed out and allowed Dale Jr to widen the gulf. Coming back to Jimmie Johnson, he ended up finishing 3rd in the championship, while Brad Keselowski won.

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Clint Bowyer finished 2nd, with Kasey Kahne finishing behind teammate Johnson. Meanwhile, the other Hendrick cars of Gordon and Earnhardt Jr finished 10th and 12th, respectively.

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.