Jimmie Johnson led teammate Kyle Busch to a 1-2 finish at Richmond International Raceway on Sunday, the third consecutive victory for Hendrick Motorsports.
Hendrick has won seven of the past eight Nextel Cup races and swept all four races in which NASCAR has used its new Car of Tomorrow.
It looked as if Hendrick would finish 1-2-3 for the final 100 laps of the race, as Johnson, Busch and pole-sitter Jeff Gordon battled for the lead. But Gordon faded over the final 15 laps and gave up third place to Denny Hamlin.
Gordon, who won the past two weeks, settled for fourth as Chevrolets took the top four spots in the race that began briefly Saturday night with 12 laps run under caution before it was halted because of rain. It started fresh on Sunday.
Johnson, the defending Nextel Cup champion, won for the fourth time this season but first at RIR. The .75-mile track was one of the worst on his resume, with Johnson having scored only one top 10 finish in 15 previous visits.
RESULTS:
1. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 400, running
2. Kyle Busch, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 400, running
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 400, running
4. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 400, running
5. Kurt Busch, No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge, 400, running
6. Ryan Newman, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge, 400, running
7. Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 400, running
8. Tony Stewart, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 400, running
9. Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 400, running
10. Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 400, running
11. Dave Blaney, No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota, 400, running
12. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 400, running
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, 400, running
14. J.J. Yeley, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 400, running
15. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge, 400, running
16. Paul Menard, No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, 400, running
17. Mark Martin, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 400, running
18. Casey Mears, No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 400, running
19. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 400, running
20. David Ragan, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 400, running
21. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, 400, running
22. Tony Raines, No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Chevrolet, 399, running
23. Sterling Marlin, No. 14 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, 399, running
24. Jeff Green, No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet, 399, running
25. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge, 399, running
26. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, 399, running
27. Elliott Sadler, No. 29 Evernham Motorsports Dodge, 398, running
28. Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, 398, running
29. David Reutimann, No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, 398, running
30. Scott Riggs, No. 10 Valvoline Evernham Racing, 397, running
31. Johnny Benson, No. 46 Wyler Racing Toyota, 397, running
32. AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 Team Red Bull Toyota, 396, running
33. Joe Nemechek, No. 13 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, 393, running
34. Robby Gordon, No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Chevrolet, 378, running
35. Ward Burton, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet, 370, accident
36. Johnny Sauter, No. 70 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet, 370, running
37. Ricky Rudd, No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford, 369, accident
38. David Stremme, No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, 362, accident
39. Kenny Wallace, No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, 331, running
40. Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge, 314, accident
41. Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 301, running
42. David Gilliland, No. 38 Robert Yates Racing Ford, 275, accident
43. Jeff Burton, No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 139, engine
- Jimmie Johnson wins pole at Richmond
- Chevy clinches 31st Manufacters Championship
- Nextel Cup Championship scenarios heading into Homestead
- Johnson and Gordon are past Martinsville
- Johnson wins 4th quarter Driver of the Year Award











big suprise here.
Jimmie and his burn outs… So passive aggressive.
Jimmie Had the best car and the best car one .I think Kyle was giving it too much throttle.which ingeneral lost the forward bite to beat Jimmie.Shrub is sprouting his leaves and he’ll blossom againg.
loved the burnies!!
wish i could have been there!
Not a Johnson fan at all by a long shot but that was quite a burnout… he could at least crack a smile when he gets our of the car.. but whatever good race for Hendricks..