Jimmie Johnson wins at Richmond for 2nd consecutive Nascar triumph

Jimmie Johnson only led 32 laps at Richmond on Sunday, but they were the ones that counted as he took the checkered flag for the second time in as many weeks to win the Chevy Rock n Roll 400.  The victory continued his impressive late season run and served further notice that the battle for the Sprint Cup would be a three way affair.

Johnson’s back-to-back wins were the latest successes in a meteoric streak since midsummer that also included a victory at the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard in Indianapolis.  Since the first of June, Johnson has run 14 races with 4 victories, 10 top 5 finishes and 11 top tens.  All but forgotten in the season long rivalry between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, Johnson has made a statement in the later part of NASCAR’s “regular season” that he’s going to be a factor in The Chase for the Sprint Cup.  NASCAR’s “postseason” begins next weekend at New Hampshire.

Oddly enough, the dominant car at Richmond was driven by little known David Reutimann—his #44 Toyota started 27th but would lead 104 of the 400 laps run before eventually settling for a 9th place finish.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 90 laps and Kevin Harvick 80, finishing 4th and 7th respectively.  Polesitter Kyle Busch led 53 laps before finishing 15th, and rival Carl Edwards never had the lead but finished 13th.  It’s important to keep in mind that with the Chase seedings already established, both Edwards and Busch had little incentive to go flat out in this setting.  Then again, neither did Johnson and he went out and won the race.

The field for the “Chase” is now set, as Clint Bowyer locked down the last spot when David Regan made contact with other cars in traffic and finished well back in the back.  The field will be Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon and Bowyer.