Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed the lead on the first lap and jumped out to a healthy margin, but an apparent scrape with the wall has allowed Jimmie Johnson to catch and pass him in Fontana.
Johnson cruised by Montoya at lap 30 and is now putting some distance between himself and the leaders.
Montoya told his team on the radio that he “killed the right rear” and has now fallen to fourth place.
Johnson leads the Richard Childress Racing cars of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer with 215 laps remaining.