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NOTES: Jimmie Johnson will seek the three-peat this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as he defends his back-to-back titles. Last year, Johnson led the final 24 laps to defeat pole sitter Mark Martin by less than a second. Juan Pablo Montoya had the car to beat at Indy, as he led 116 of 160 laps. But Montoya was caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a pass-through penalty. That allowed Martin, the pole sitter, to reclaim the lead. A caution for Dale Earnhardt Jr's blown engine set up a double-file restart with 24 laps to go. Just after the restart, Johnson moved around Martin to take the lead for the first time. Johnson beat Martin to the finish line by four-tenths of a second for his third victory in the last four races at Indy. Johnson became just the second pole sitter to capture this race in 2008, as he defeated Carl Edwards by less than a second for his 35th career Sprint Cup title. Johnson, who now totals 52 wins, led eight times for a race-high 71 laps. Mark Martin seeks his first win at IMS. Martin, who sat on the pole last year, will race for the 17th time at "The Brickyard." Martin has recorded ten top-10s, but has led just 57 laps in his 16 appearances there. His best finish was second in 1998 and last season. This is one of four current tracks that Martin has never won on. Pocono (0-for-46), Homestead (0-for-10) and Daytona (0-for-50) are the others. Tony Stewart returned to the Victory Lane at IMS in 2007, as he posted a 2.982-second victory over Juan Pablo Montoya for his 31st career Sprint Cup title. Stewart, who now totals 37 career wins, led seven times for a race- high 65 laps. Pole sitter Reed Sorenson led the first 16 laps and placed fifth. The race was a see-saw battle among six drivers, but it was Stewart who reclaimed the lead on the 151st lap from Kevin Harvick to secure the win. Harvick finished seventh. In 2006, Johnson completed a rare double with his win in both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took the checkered flag ahead of Matt Kenseth as a caution flag flew. Johnson also won the prestigious Daytona 500 in February of 2006, a feat only done once before - by Dale Jarrett in 1996. Pole sitter Jeff Burton led six times for a race- high 87 laps, but finished 15th. Stewart crossed the finish line 0.794 of a second ahead of Kasey Kahne in 2005 for his 23rd Sprint Cup win. Stewart, who won five times in 2005, started from the 22nd position and took the lead for the first time on lap 100. Stewart traded Scott Wimmer and Kahne for the lead until lap 150, where he took over for good. Stewart led for a total of 44 laps, while pole sitter Elliott Sadler led for 39 laps, but finished 32nd. John Andretti, Robby Gordon and Stewart are the only drivers to have ever competed in both an Indianapolis 500 and a Brickyard 400 in the same year. Seven of the 16 winners of this race have come from a top-four starting position. Three of the last seven have been won from the front row: Bill Elliott (second in 2002), Kevin Harvick (pole in 2003) and Johnson (pole in 2008). Overall, the race has been won from a top-10 starting position nine of the 16 races. The furthest back a race winner has started was 27th by Jeff Gordon in 2001. Chevrolet has won this race 11 times, including seven straight, Ford three, Pontiac once and Dodge once. Gordon is a four-time winner of this race. In fact, in his 16 appearances, Gordon has 13 top-10 finishes, has led 440 laps and has an average finish of 8.625. Gordon is a three-time pole sitter, but has not started first since 1999. Since it began in 1994, only four drivers have run in all 16 Brickyard 400s, Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Martin and Jeff Burton. The winner of the Indianapolis race has won the championship in the same year seven times in the 15 years the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has raced there. The August 1st Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway is the next event on the Sprint Cup Series schedule. Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner. 07/20 16:28:50 ET