Indianapolis, IN -- (Sports Network) - Jimmie Johnson won Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard 400 in a race that was marred with tire problems from the start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver and two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion led a race-high 71 laps and crossed the finish line 0.332 seconds ahead of Carl Edwards.

It was Johnson's second victory of the season and the 35th of his Sprint Cup career.

"I just can't say enough of this race car all weekend long," Johnson said. "Carl put about as much pressure on me as he could. I knew from chasing Denny (Hamlin) the run before, even if he gets a little faster, he's not going to get by, so I just hit my marks."

Johnson won the race from the pole, becoming the second Cup driver to do so at Indianapolis. Kevin Harvick accomplished the feat in 2003.

Johnson was also fastest in final practice. Saturday's practice brought up concerns about tire wear at the aged track.

Goodyear tires stamped for next week's race at Pocono, PA were sent to Indy for reserve on Saturday night. Teams got an extra set of tires for the 400- mile event. And NASCAR planned a competition caution on Lap 10.

Johnson led the field to the green. His teammate, Jeff Gordon, moved from fifth to second in the first three laps. Gordon was in pursuit of Johnson, but a crash, involving Michael Waltrip and Paul Menard, on the fourth lap put the race under caution for the first time. Waltrip spun and hit the wall. Menard made contact with Waltrip while trying to get by him. He also hit the wall and sustained minor cosmetic damage during the incident.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was among a handful of drivers who pitted. Earnhardt, Jr. took on four new tires and had his crew look over the car for damage after a near incident with Edwards several laps beforehand. Earnhardt, Jr. and Edwards almost bumped while battling for position on the backstretch.

NASCAR changed its planned caution to Lap 14 to allow more tire wear since the first caution took place on the fourth lap.

Contact between Harvick and Kurt Busch set up the caution on Lap 14. Busch got loose coming out of the corner and hit Harvick, sending both cars into the wall.

Johnson exited pit road first, followed by Gordon and Edwards. Johnson and Gordon took on two tires only during their stops. Earnhardt, Jr., meanwhile, remained on the track since he pitted earlier. He led the way when the race resumed.

Earnhardt, Jr. led for eight laps but had to make an unscheduled pit stop for a flat left-front tire. Gordon grabbed the lead for the first time on Lap 25, while Earnhardt, Jr. fell a lap down in 38th after his stop.

Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire on Lap 28, forcing the third caution. NASCAR ordered another planned caution to allow teams to check tire wear.

Kyle Busch gained three spots, exiting the pits first. Gordon and Johnson followed second and third with Busch inheriting the lead for the first time on Lap 32.

With continued tire issues, NASCAR planned cautions in intervals of 11 to 12 laps for the remainder of the event.

Busch's lead didn't hold up long as Johnson passed him five laps later with Gordon back in the second spot. Busch reclaimed second shortly after, while Gordon slipped back to seventh.

Jeff Burton made the biggest charge through the field in the first-quarter of the race as he started 32nd but moved up to sixth by Lap 40.

The third competition caution was planned for Lap 47, but one lap earlier, Matt Kenseth spun when he blew a right-rear tire, ripping the right quarterpanel off the car and dropping debris on the backstretch. Mark Martin and Edwards also experienced tire problems on Lap 46.

Kyle Busch was once again the quickest out of the pits and led the way for the restart on Lap 54. Johnson chased Busch and passed him for the top spot six laps later. A.J. Allmendinger then moved around Busch for the second spot. Busch began to fall in the field as he ran seventh when the next competition caution came on Lap 67.

Allmendinger won the battle off of pit road, while Elliott Sadler came out second, gaining four spots.

Allmendinger led the field for the restart on Lap 71, but Johnson quickly passed Greg Biffle, Sadler and then Allmendinger for the top spot. Gordon made his way back to the second spot.

NASCAR's fifth-planned competition caution occurred at the half-way point. Edwards had a two-tire change only and gained five positions as he exited the pits first. Martin Truex, Jr., who pitted earlier, ran out in front for the restart. But Edwards caught him in one lap, while Johnson and Gordon moved towards the front again.

Johnson passed Edwards for the top spot on Lap 91. Gordon then moved around Edwards for the second spot on the same lap.

Bobby Labonte came onto pit road when he had a right-front tire issue one lap before the next planned caution on Lap 98. Pit road was closed when he entered. NASCAR closed the pits before the caution because some drivers were stopping early to take advantage of the cautions. Labonte was slapped with pitting too early and speeding penalties. He was running eighth before pitting, but fell to 32nd after the infractions.

Sadler gained five spots as he was the first out of pit road this time, while Burton came out second as he moved up seven positions. Sadler was in the lead for the restart on Lap 106, but Burton dipped below him to take the top spot for the first time. However, the caution flag was quickly displayed when Brian Vickers' Toyota leaked oil on the track after his engine blew up.

Johnson battled Allmendinger for the second spot and then passed him with 46 laps remaining. One lap later, he had no problem getting around Burton for the lead. Gordon immediately moved past Burton for second as the Hendrick Motorsports duo were once again running one-and-two. Edwards moved into the third spot just before the next competition caution.

Johnson and Gordon took on four new tires during their stops, but Denny Hamlin was the fastest out of the pits as he gained eight spots. Hamlin, who took on two-tires only, claimed the lead for the first time.

With three-quarters of the race completed, NASCAR released an extra set of right-side tires for teams to use.

Hamlin held off Johnson up until the next caution. In fact, Johnson began to fall behind as Edwards passed him for the second spot just before the caution flag waved at Lap 138.

Hamlin took on right-side tires only and made it out of the pits first. Jeff Burton came out second after gaining four positions. Hamlin built a half- second lead over Burton after the restart, while Tony Stewart fell from fourth to 10th. Stewart stopped for two tires only.

Just before NASCAR's final planned caution, Sadler passed Burton for the second spot, and then Johnson moved around Burton for third.

When the leaders came in for their final round of stops, Johnson took on two tires only and came out first. Edwards moved up three positions as he came out second, while Hamlin exited third.

Johnson reclaimed the lead with eight laps to go. On the restart, he pulled away from Edwards and then held him off in the closing laps for his second win at Indianapolis. He won there in 2006, the same year he captured his first series title.

Hamlin, Sadler and Gordon completed the top-five.

"It was frustrating for everybody involved, everybody watching and everybody on pit road," Gordon said in regards to the tire problems at Indy. "As a driver, to know that you basically can only go 10 laps, it was a crazy race."

Kyle Busch finished 15th and left Indianapolis with a 253-point lead over Earnhardt, Jr., who finished 12th.

The next race is scheduled for Sunday, August 3rd, at Pocono, PA.