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NASCAR Charlotte: Jimmie Johnson advances in 2016 Chase with victory

Jimmie Johnson ended a 24-race winless streak with victory at Charlotte in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup, postponed to Sunday after Hurricane Matthew struck

Having started from 11th, Johnson managed to cement himself in the Round of Eight for the first time in the current Chase era, with a faultless race on his home track.

Matt Kenseth took second place as he avoided the late aggressive driving and harsh tyre wear.

Starting from last, Kenseth also managed to overcome a penalty accrued on pit road for having too many men over the pit wall. He narrowly missed out on victory as Johnson jumped him on the final restart of the race.

Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

A 12-car wreck and a red flag, triggered by excessive bump-drafting from Martin Truex Jr on Austin Dillon, rearranged the pack behind Johnson on a late restart.

Truex later faced a clutch failure as he restarted, ending his fine run of form. This left five Chase drivers finishing below 30th place in a Chase round for the first time since 2007.

The drivers, though not in the running for Chase Cup victory, showed blistering pace in the closing laps. Kahne, on the slower, less grippy inside line, was overtaken by Kenseth late on.

Two of the 12 remaining Chase drivers faced significant issues before that red flag: polesitter Kevin Harvick's oil pump failed, joined by Joey Logano in the garage, who hit the wall three times due to tyre problems.

Tyre abrasion was exacerbated in the early stages as the hurricane had washed away any residual rubber, leaving a slick surface.

RESULT

Pos Driver Team Car Laps
1 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334
2 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334
3 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334
4 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 334
5 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 334
6 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334
7 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 334
8 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 334
9 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 334
10 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 334
11 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 334
12 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334
13 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 334
14 Michael McDowell Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 334
15 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 334
16 Chris Buescher Front Row Motorsports Ford 334
17 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 334
18 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 334
19 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 334
20 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 333
21 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 333
22 Brian Scott Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 333
23 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 331
24 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 330
25 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 329
26 Jeffrey Earnhardt Go FAS Racing Ford 328
27 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 327
28 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 321
29 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 320
30 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 308
31 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 307
32 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 258
33 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 258
34 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 258
35 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 257
36 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 254
37 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 252
38 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 155
39 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 61
40 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 61


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