Jimmie Johnson rings a bell after winning the Auto Club 500 Sunday in Fontana, Calif.

Fontana, Calif. — Jimmie Johnson knows he got lucky. So do the Richard Childress Racing drivers who went from leading to chasing him the final laps.

The fortunate break for Johnson in his victory at California came because he was already in the pits when a late caution flag came out Sunday. The No. 48 Hendrick team completed the stop, and Johnson passed the scoring line at the end of pit road before Childress’ Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick were able to cross the start-finish line.

That split-second kept Johnson on the lead lap and allowed him to regain the lead when everybody else — including Burton and Harvick, who were 1-2 when Brad Keselowski spun in Turn 4 — pitted under yellow. Johnson stayed in front the final 20 laps after the restart.

“There’s no way of getting around how lucky they are,” Harvick said.

“Yeah, the deal on pit row, there’s no way around it, we got lucky,” Johnson said. “We were running fourth or fifth at the time, so it’s not like we totally backed into this thing. We got a really nice gift with the way things worked out, and it was up to me to kind of hang on to it.”

Consider the drive for five under way after he held off a charging Harvick on the closing stretch.

After winning his unprecedented fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship last year, Johnson started this season by finishing 35th in the Daytona 500. And there he had some bad luck, a flat tire possibly caused by that pothole before his race ended later because of a broken axle.

With Harvick trying to get around him with just more than three laps to go on the slick two-mile California track, Johnson moved to block. Harvick scraped the outside wall out of Turn 4 and lost his momentum, allowing Johnson to go on to his 48th career victory and fifth in 15 races at his home track.

“Caught the wall there just enough to knock the right fender in,” Harvick said. “He moved up and did what he was supposed to do to take that line away. … He did exactly what he had to do.”

Auto racing

Spectator killed by debris

Chandler, Ariz. — A woman died Sunday after being hit by a tire from a crashing dragster at the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

The woman was watching a first-round Top Fuel run at Firebird International Raceway when Antron Brown’s Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster went out of control on the strip and its left rear wheel came off.

Alia Maisonet, a spokeswoman for the Gila River Indian Community, said the woman was airlifted to a Phoenix-area hospital for treatment and later died. Gila River emergency responders were among the first to respond to the scene.

Golf

Poulter wins Match Play

Marana, Ariz. — Ian Poulter now has something more stylish than anything in his wardrobe.

Dressed in pink on a chilly day in the desert, Poulter captured the biggest victory of his career Sunday by leading the final 28 holes and beating Paul Casey 4 and 2 in the all-England final at the Match Play Championship.

Along with winning his first World Golf Championship, the 34-year-old Poulter won for the first time on American soil. He closed out Casey with a par on the 34th hole.

Poulter won for the ninth time on the PGA European Tour and moved to a career-best No. 5 in the world ranking. He earned $1.4 million, the biggest prize of his career.

Beckman earns third win

Playa del Carman, Mexico — Cameron Beckman won the Mayakoba Golf Classic for his third PGA Tour title, closing with a 3-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over third-round leader Joe Durant and Brian Stuard.

Langer wins in playoff

Boca Raton, Fla. — Bernhard Langer knocked in a bunker shot for eagle on the first playoff hole to beat John Cook for the Allianz Championship title Sunday.

Langer and Cook were tied at 17-under 199 when they headed to a sudden death playoff on No. 18. Cook missed an eagle chance when his putt rolled past the hole on the Old Course at Broken Sound.

Miyazato rallies

Pattaya, Thailand — Japanese star Ai Miyazato rallied to win the season-opening Honda PTT LPGA Thailand on Sunday, holing a birdie chip on the final hole for a 9-under 63 and a one-stroke victory over Norway’s Suzann Pettersen.

Miyazato, six strokes behind Pettersen after the third round, was 6 under in a six-hole stretch midway through the round, then birdied three of the last six holes to match the tournament record of 21 under set by Pettersen in October 2007.

Finchem takes blame

Marana, Ariz. — PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem took the blame Sunday for not alerting his players about why Tiger Woods chose to make his first public appearance during the Match Play Championship.

Players had to field several questions about Woods upon finishing their matches in the opening round Wednesday, when it was announced that Woods was to speak publicly Friday for the first time since the Nov. 27 car accident that revealed rampant affairs.

Baseball

Mauer mum on contract

Fort Myers, Fla. — American League MVP Joe Mauer reported to spring training for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday without a contract extension in place.

He hasn’t talked specifics about the negotiations all offseason and said that won’t change now that spring training is beginning.

“I’m not going to get into that,” the catcher said. “It would just open up a can of worms.”

Damon nearly a Tiger

A person familiar with the negotiations says Johnny Damon has completed his physical with the Detroit Tigers, clearing the way for the team to finalize a one-year contract with the outfielder.

The person spoke Sunday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced.

Another person familiar with the situation said Saturday night that the Tigers and Damon agreed on an $8 million, one-year deal, subject to a physical.

Guillen in TV series

Glendale, Ariz. — Get the bleeps ready. Ozzie Guillen is coming to a reality series near you.

The big three of the Chicago White Sox — manager Guillen, general manager Ken Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf — will be featured in “The Club” on the MLB Network this summer.

NBA

Wade still day to day

Miami — All-Star MVP Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat is no longer in a walking boot and remains listed as day-to-day due to a strained left calf.

The star guard underwent tests Sunday that confirmed the injury — sustained last week in a game against New Jersey — is not more severe than first thought.

The Heat said Wade will continue to undergo treatment.

College football

Oregon player dismissed

Eugene, Ore. — University of Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly says wide receiver Jamere Holland has been dismissed from the team, hinting that the decision came after Holland posted an expletive-filled statement on Facebook.