Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson displayed the stellar form that earned him the 2007 and 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles while driving to a dominating 2.076-seconds win over Roush Fenway racer Greg Biffle at California Speedway. Johnson started from the pole position and led the 250-lap event eight times for a total of 228 laps. Johnson’s third victory of the season helped him become one of five drivers to clinch a spot in the 12-driver, 10-race “Chase for the Sprint Cup” that begins Sept. 14 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He moved from fourth to third in the standings with his second win, fourth top-three and fifth top-10 finish in his past seven series events.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin placed third, Richard Childress Racing competitor Kevin Harvick took fourth and Roush Fenway Racing hot shoe Matt Kenseth brought home fifth. Biffle moved from seventh to sixth in the standings with his third top-five and fourth top-10 finish in the past seven events. Hamlin kept his grip on the valuable 11th-spot in the standings by engineering his second straight third-place finish that marked his third top-five and fourth top-10 run in his past six starts.
Harvick moved from eighth to seventh on the series ladder with his second straight top-five finish that extended his top-10 finish streak five. Kenseth earned his second fifth-place finish in the past three races as well as his third straight top-10 result. He moved from 10th to ninth in the standings. Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., secured his Chase spot with an 11th-place California finish and Richard Childress Racing stalwart Jeff Burton made his Chase reservation with a 17th-place showing. Series leader and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch, who placed seventh in California, and two-time Kentucky Speedway race winner Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing locked down their Chase positions in the Aug. 23 series event at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Drivers will compete for the remaining seven Chase positions at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Childress Racing driver Clint Bowyer won the May 3 event at the track earlier this season that Hamlin started from the pole position. Johnson scored a Sept. 2007 win at the facility. The top 12 drivers in the series standings entering the event are: Kyle Busch (Leader: 3,755 points: Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Edwards Second: -208, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Johnson (Third: -369, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Earnhardt, Jr., (Fourth: -432, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Burton (Fifth: -521 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Biffle (Sixth: -596, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Harvick (Seventh: -623, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Tony Stewart (Eighth: -645, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kenseth (Ninth: -674, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Jeff Gordon (10th: -681, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Hamlin (11th: -690, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing) and Bowyer (12th: -766, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing).
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