Speeding infraction costly; Johnson takes advantage to claim Allstate 400

Jimmie Johnson cashed in on the most expensive speeding ticket in NASCAR history, grabbing an improbable third victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when a penalty to Juan Pablo Montoya blew the race wide open.

In a performance that mirrored his dominating Indianapolis 500 victory nine years ago, Montoya was in cruise control as he led 116 laps and built a five-second lead over the competition in the Allstate 400. Then NASCAR flagged him for speeding on a routine pit stop with 35 laps remaining, and the driver became unglued.

"I swear on my children and my wife that I was not speeding!" he shouted over his radio. "There is no way! Thank you NASCAR for screwing my day."

Crew chief Brian Pattie begged his driver to calm down and focus on salvaging a solid points day, to no avail.

"Don't tell me to relax, dude!" Montoya yelled. "We had this in the bag."

Indeed he did, but the penalty took him out of contention and relegated him to an 11th-place finish. Montoya, who had moved as high as sixth in the Sprint Cup standings as he ran out front, instead lost a spot and is now 10th in the race for the Chase for the championship.

The difference in his paycheck was severe: Johnson earned $448,001 for the victory, while Montoya's share of the purse was knocked down to $224,048.

The performance was reminiscent of Montoya's win in the 2000 Indy 500, when he led 167 of 200 laps in his first race at the storied track. His team celebrated his return Sunday with a retro paint scheme that duplicated that winning car, and as he clicked off lap after lap, it was deja vu for the Colombian driver.

"I was cruise(ing). I was super fast," a calmer Montoya said after the race.

Too fast, actually.

NASCAR said the electronic timing system caught Montoya twice exceeding the limit as he drove down pit road.

"There's nothing to prove wrong," said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition. "It's about as simple math as you can use."

The penalty opened up the race for anyone else to claim, and overshadowed Johnson's third win in the last four years at Indy. Johnson, who won for the third time this season, also became the first driver to win in consecutive seasons since Indy opened to NASCAR 16 years ago.

Johnson wouldn't speculate on if he would have won the race if Montoya had not been penalized.

"I do know I have the trophy," he offered. "I hate it for him. I know it is a story, Juan led so many laps, but when we come back and look at it two months from now the stat sheet is going to have a 'W' next to my name. That's all that matters."

Current points leader Tony Stewart finished third.

IndyCar: Will Power led almost the entire way Sunday to capture the Rexall Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, Alberta, in a race marred by a pit fire that burned driver Tony Kanaan'ss hands and face.

Kanaan, the Brazilian driver for Andretti Green, was injured on his first pit stop when the ethanol fuel hose filling his car appeared to not shut off properly, dousing him and his car in fuel.

Seconds later the car caught fire, with Kanaan frantically struggling to free himself as crews doused his No. 11 Dallara Honda with water. Kanaan later waved to the crowd as he was led away for medical tests.

Massa update: Ferrari driver Felipe Massa remained in "life-threatening" but stable condition Sunday in Budapest, Hungary, following surgery on multiple skull fractures.

Peter Bazso, the AEK hospital medical director, told reporters Massa would remain sedated until today, but will be woken up periodically.

When asked whether Massa's life remained in danger, Bazso answered: "Yes, of course."

Bazso said doctors were able to "remove the broken bones and stabilize the area," which was necessary since Massa arrived with "an open skull fracture and a contusion."

Massa was injured during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying Saturday. His car plowed into the protective tire barrier.