John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

Jamie McMurray celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AMP Energy 500 on Sunday.

When cars ahead of him in the running order began to run out of gas because of the red-flag delay, Johnson vaulted up in the standings. The final finishing order showed him in eighth, but he was adamant he finished sixth.

After a lengthy review, Johnson was indeed credited with a sixth-place finish that stretched his lead in the standings to 184 points over Martin with three races remaining.

“From where we were with the red flag to where we finished, I’m still in shock,” Johnson said. “I can’t believe that it worked out. I can’t believe that many guys ran out of fuel and put themselves in that position.”

It was the final hurdle in Johnson’s path because his 17.7 average finish at Talladega is his worst of the 10 races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He had dreaded Sunday’s race because of the unknowns that come with the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates that are used to control the high speeds at the 2.66-mile track.

“I was so concerned about this race,” he admitted. “I thought I was going to lose points with about three or four (laps) to go. So to have it turn around and lead with points over the guys, I didn’t expect it.”

Aside from Johnson and McMurray, who won for the first time since Daytona in July 2007, few drivers were happy with the final outcome.

That’s usually the way it goes at Daytona and Talladega, the two places were the plates are used and the final results rarely reflect what actually happened. Bump-drafting has become a necessary evil as drivers jockey for position in the tight packs, conditions five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. said left them “at the mercy of the whole field.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable. I feel lucky that I didn’t wreck,” he said after an 11th-place finish. “We show up to bust our (butt) to get our cars to handle right and do right everywhere else, but when you come here, you just sit in the bus, wait for the damn race to start and see what your number is at the end of the deal. It’s a lottery.”