Johnson closes in

With just one race left to go at Miami Homestead next weekend, the Hendrick Motorsports star, who completed a Darlington sweep, is now only 18 points behind series leader Kurt Busch who finished sixth.

Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon rallied back to second and third positions by the end of the race, both having led at different stages of the 500-miler. They lost out in the final two rounds of pit stops to Jamie McMurray and rookie Kasey Kahne - who eventually finished fourth and fifth - and put on an entertaining show as they battled back past.

The victory was Johnson's fourth in the 10 races designated this year as a championship playoff, and it propelled him back into the thick of the points race. Having all but counted himself out after a string of failures in August, Johnson and crew have hit the boost button down the stretch and are just 18 points behind leader Kurt Busch with one race to go.

"Our team works best in those situations," Johnson said of his late-summer slump. "When we show up and you stack the odds against us, I don't know what it is, we always do better.

"We don't have anything to lose at Homestead [next week's finale]. We'll do everything we can to win another race."

Almost as a warning, crew chief Chad Knaus said the team would take the same car to Homestead that it brought to Charlotte, Atlanta and Darlington - all won by Johnson. He said he had come away from a recent test at the Florida track with "a very good baseline."

Johnson took command early, seizing the lead from Busch on lap 27. During a long stretch of green midway in the race, Johnson built leads of up to 4s.

The team, however, suffered a setback during the caution stops on lap 196. A lugnut on the right-rear somehow got wedged between the brake cap and the wheel, causing a long stop. Johnson dropped to 17th in the running.

That turned control over to Jeff Gordon, who came first out of the pits. Gordon also sailed away from the field, leading 155 of the 267 laps (Johnson led 124 overall).

Misfortune also waylaid Gordon, however. During the caution stops on lap 332, the rear tyre changer's air hose was caught under the right-rear wheel, delaying the work. Gordon, who had led all but three of the prior 158 laps, dropped to seventh in the order.

The final caution came out on lap 346, when Kevin Harvick's car stalled on the apron in Turn 3. All drivers but two pitted for tyres, those two being Jamie McMurray and Kasey Kahne, Johnson came out third, ahead of Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin and Gordon.

Kahne was tougher than expected on the older tyres, but Johnson passed him for second on lap 351, then took aim at leader McMurray, passing him easily for the lead on lap 359. Meanwhile, Martin and Gordon ripped through the pack, with Mark charging to second place at the finish and Gordon taking third.

Busch once again pulled a rabbit out of a hat, overcoming multiple difficulties, including loose lugnuts and a brush with the wall. He finished sixth and hung on to the shreds of what had been a 96-point lead three weeks ago.

A non-finish for Ryan Newman and a lowly 17th spot for Tony Stewart eliminated both from the 'Chase for the Cup', leaving just five drivers still in contention going to Miami.

Busch, Johnson and Gordon are separated by 21 points, while Phoenix-winner Dale Earnhardt Jr (who was forced to make a late-race battery change) and Martin are now outsiders, 72 points and 82 points respectively.