Newman grabbed the lead at Martinsville Speedway when Hendrick team-mates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson collided with Clint Bowyer just two laps from the finish.

The 34-year-old Stewart Haas driver was then able to hold on for the remainder of the race to claim victory and end a 22-race winless streak.

A.J. Allmendinger finished second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. Johnson wound up 12th and Gordon, who led for 328 laps, finished 14th.

The finish, however, overshadowed what had been a thrilling duel between Gordon and Johnson and the race had seemed poised for an epic finale that looked certain to give owner Rick Hendrick and his team a landmark 200th Sprint Cup victory.

Mayhem

Johnson, a six-time winner at the 0.526-mile (850-metre) oval, first took the lead when he passed Gordon on the 356th lap but then lost it on pit road before passing Denny Hamlin on lap 393.

He held off a modest challenge by Gordon, who has won seven times at the circuit, with about 30 laps to go and the pair then duelled side-by-side until David Reutimann sparked a caution when he ran out of gas near the entrance to turn one.

Gordon, who had just nudged in front of Johnson before the yellow flew, was the leader, with Johnson second and everyone behind them heading to pit road for tyres.

But what had been until then a clean race turned into mayhem on the restart on lap 503. Clint Bowyer sneaked inside Gordon's car heading into the first turn and the three cars slid up the track allowing Newman to zip past.

"We were not a dominate race car," said the winner. "Clint kind of cleared out Turn One for us and we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time."

Trouble

Earnhardt, who was in position to give Hendrick a sweep of the top three spots before the caution, said everyone being on fresh tyres was a factor in the crash.

"We all took off and ran into the back of the leaders, all of us," he said.

Earnhardt didn't blame Bowyer for trying to take the inside line, but was at a loss to explain what Reutimann was thinking.

"I would like an explanation on why that happened," he said of Reutimann stopping where he did. "There doesn't seem like there could be a logical reason for him to have to stop on the track."

"I would not have stopped on the freaking racetrack," insisted Reutimann, who said his motor just died.

"I would have limped it around there and come to pit road, which is what I was trying to do. The thing quit going down the back straightaway, and it shut off. I just didn't stop there intentionally."