Jimmie Johnson probably wishes Saturday night's 400-lap NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Richmond International Raceway could have lasted about 100 more laps.
That's because the checkered flag fell just as Johnson's Lowe's Monte Carlo had regained the lap he lost earlier in the race.

Before the 2006 points leader could move up the scoring monitor, the checkered flag fell and Johnson settled for a 12th-place finish.

"It was just a hard-fought day," Johnson said. "We were a little off at the beginning. We got down a lap. We fought our way back and got back in the thick of things at the end."

Johnson 12th-place finish was certainly better than where he spent much of the early part of the race on the three-quarter mile, D-shaped oval. After starting fifth, Johnson ran up front before a pit stop put him back in the