Thank fuel mileage for the best race of the season

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It was such a bizarre sight that, at first, it didn't even register. Here was Jimmie Johnson's race car, the silver and blue vehicle that had dominated so much of Sunday's event at Michigan International Speedway, approaching the start-finish line for the next-to-last time and suddenly traveling -- backward?

Just enough fuel

Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle ran out of fuel. That left third-place Mark Martin in position to cruise on by and win the LifeLock 400 in a thriller at Michigan.

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• Race Rewind: Michigan

At least that's the way it appeared, as Johnson's fuel cell ran dry and one competitor after another zoomed past the three-time series champion. He led 146 laps, but his final circuit was a painfully slow one as the No. 48 car rolled around the full circumference of the 2-mile race track at a crawl. Johnson coasted onto pit road, took a few gallons of gas, and crossed the finish line in 22nd place.

"That's my fault, man," crew chief Chad Knaus told his driver over the radio.

And yet, Johnson and his fans were among the very few who left Michigan disappointed after a wonderfully chaotic series of events that saw two passes for the lead on the final lap, the top two contenders for the win run out of fuel, and 50-year-old Mark Martin reach Victory Lane for the third time this season. Oh, how the traditionalists love to bash fuel mileage, believing it to be some cheap means of victory, clinging to this glorified and anachronistic notion that the only manly way to win is to barrel three-wide toward the checkered flag. And yet, fuel mileage on Sunday delivered what was easily the most entertaining event of this Cup season.

It's time to recognize the fact that fuel mileage races can be terribly dramatic, and that their winners are legitimate for different but wholly justifiable reasons. The endgame of crew chiefs trying to outthink one another, the surprise of cars suddenly slowing, the unknown of who will make it and who won't -- it's terribly more interesting than a mere green-flag pass. Oh yes, it's supposed to be all about speed and power and going fast. But it's also about being smart and patient and trying to mitigate the prospect of failure before 90,000 people. Martin succeeded in all those areas Sunday, and won the race because of them. Every weekend gives you checkers. Fuel-mileage races give you chess. (Continued)