Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson took his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series-leading fifth victory of the season at California Speedway Sept. 2 and with it enhanced his chances of improving on his current sixth seed in the upcoming 10-race, 12-driver Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. Drivers will have one more chance to become eligible for this season’s title when the series visits Richmond International Raceway Sept. 8. Johnson, the defending series champion, took his first win since May 6 at Richmond and this fourth top-five finish in his past five starts.
He crossed the California finish line an impressive 1.868 seconds ahead of Roush Racing driver and former NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Busch Series Kentucky Speedway race winner Carl Edwards, who registered his second consecutive top-two series finish with a second-place performance. Edwards advanced one spot in the series standings to fourth with his seventh top-five and 11th top-10 finish of the season. He will enter the Richmond race riding a string of four consecutive top-10 finishes.
Kyle Busch placed third in California, Jeff Burton drove home fourth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., kept his slim Chase for the NEXTEL Cup qualifying hopes alive with a fifth-place showing. He ranks 13th in the series standings with six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, but trails 12th-place driver Kevin Harvick by 128 points. Richmond race coverage begins at 7:00 p. m., on ESPN Radio, the Motor Racing Radio Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. Current series leader Jeff Gordon started the May Richmond race from the pole position.
The top 12 drivers in the series standings entering the race are: Gordon (Leader: 3,679 points, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet), Tony Stewart (Second: -317, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chevrolet), Denny Hamlin (Third: -344, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chevrolet), Edwards (Fourth: -349, Roush Racing, Ford), Matt Kenseth (Fifth: -370, Roush Racing, Ford), Johnson (Sixth: -430, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet), Burton (Seventh: -460, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet), Kyle Busch (Eighth: -480, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet), Clint Bowyer (Ninth: -632, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet), Martin Truex, Jr. (10th: -637, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Chevrolet), Kurt Busch (11th: -657, Penske Racing, Dodge) and Harvick (12th: -670, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet).
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