Johnson was excused from Victory Lane

Jimmie Johnson's series-high sixth victory of the season Sunday was tempered by word that a plane carrying members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization was missing.

&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/science/19/95/381/10995_sport.html ' target=_blank>NASCAR officials informed Johnson and three other Hendrick drivers that a plane carrying members of the organization had disappeared en route to the race. Johnson was excused from Victory Lane.

NASCAR said no other details about who was on the plane, where it disappeared or what may have preceded the loss of contact were immediately available, informed San Francisco Chronicle.

According to the TSN Sports, after a brief celebratory burnout on the frontstretch, Johnson did not go to victory lane following his triumph in the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He was summoned to the NASCAR trailer, where he was told the bad news.

With approximately 50 laps remaining, word began circulating that a Hendrick Motorsports plane, apparently carrying two pilots and eight passengers, had crashed into Bull Mountain, about 10 miles west of here, en route to the city's airport, according to a report from the Charlotte Observer.