Johnson dominates at Fontana

The reigning champion started from pole and only conceded the lead briefly during pitstops, completing 228 of the 250 laps up front to claim a perfect score of 195 points which ensured he will start the series' 'playoff' right behind leader Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.

Johnson's victory is his third of the season and also his third at his home track, putting him at the top of the list of multiple wins at Fontana alongside teammate Jeff Gordon. His dominance should give Busch and Edwards some food for thought, as there was nobody able to match his pace all day.

"This racecar was unbelievable," said Johnson. "We clinched (a spot in the Chase) and certainly got ten more bonus points that are going to be really important. We're just happy to be doing the right things right now and this is a big relief for us to get a victory here on a big track.

"There are seven of this type of tracks in the Chase, and that's where we've been off a little bit, so it looks like we're on a par right now."

Greg Biffle stole Johnson's lead during pitstops four times, but a couple of laps after every restart he would see the No. 48 car easily get by him.

In the last part of the race the Roush Fenway driver seemed able to match Johnson's pace, but only for a couple of laps before he radioed his team to say he couldn't keep up with the Hendrick driver.

"The 48 (Johnson) was phenomenal," said Biffle, who only needs to start next week's race at Richmond to secure a place in the Chase. "We see that happen every once in a while, a guy gets it set up right, gets the car running good and we saw it last night in the Nationwide race and tonight in the Sprint Cup race.

"My guys, what a phenomenal job. I feel bad. I let them down. They were the fastest guys on pitroad tonight and I've never had that before in my life. It feels pretty good to beat everybody off of pitroad time and time again. It wasn't just one time. I wish we could have my car in Victory Lane."

Denny Hamlin finished third for the second week in a row, being the best Toyota finisher, although never really showing he had anything for Johnson. Despite his strong result he stays 'on the bubble' as far as his Chase hopes go, ranking eleventh, 76 points ahead of twelfth-placed Clint Bowyer.

"You're still not comfortable," said Hamlin about his championship status heading into the final race before the Chase. "Anything can happen at Richmond, and we led every lap it seemed like there in the spring and ended up finishing 28th or something.

"So you never know what can happen. I wish I had probably a 130 point lead, that way you know you pretty much lock yourself in when you have a buffer like that."

Kevin Harvick had a solid race running in the top-five for most of the distance and crossing the finish line in fourth place. Although he has not mathematically secured his place in the Chase, his good result allowed him to move up in the points one spot and virtually put one foot inside the Chase.

Rounding up the top-five and also making great strides towards the Chase was Matt Kenseth, while the two main rivals for the title finished right behind him, with Kyle Busch taking Kasey Kahne's seventh place from under his nose in spectacular fashion on the final turn of the race.

The day was pretty uneventful for both Busch and Edwards as they spent their first weekend under probation from NASCAR following their incident last week at Bristol. Busch seemed to struggle the most between the two during the night, fighting a very loose Toyota for most of the distance.

Clint Bowyer didn't change his situation in the points drastically after finishing tenth, as only seventeen points separate him and Roush Fenway's David Ragan in the battle for twelfth place in the standing, the last place to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Dale Earnhardt Jr finished eleventh and like Johnson secured a place in the Chase, while Jeff Burton celebrated his 500th start in the Sprint Cup by clinching a place in the series' 'playoff' for the third year in a row.

AJ Allmendinger led the first lap of the race and stayed in the top-15 for most of the day, eventually finishing fourteenth. His strong finish allowed his car to move back in the top-35 in the owners' standing, up to 31st place, while Sam Hornish Jr will now have to qualify on time at Richmond.

Patrick Carpentier was the best rookie finisher in 18th place, although he still remains outside the top-35 in the owners' standing.

"I'm really happy," the Canadian said. "For the first time this year we truly ran with the guys. We stayed with them pretty much the whole race. We lost a lap at one point but came back and fought with them the whole night. That was fun. It's my first time this year so for me that's the best so far so I'm pretty happy."

Pos  Driver               Make        Laps
 1.  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet    250
 2.  Greg Biffle          Ford         250
 3.  Denny Hamlin         Toyota       250
 4.  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet    250
 5.  Matt Kenseth         Ford         250
 6.  Carl Edwards         Ford         250
 7.  Kasey Kahne          Dodge        250
 8.  Kyle Busch           Toyota       250
 9.  David Reutimann      Toyota       250
10.  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet    250
11.  Dale Earnhardt Jr    Chevrolet    250
12.  Brian Vickers        Toyota       250
13.  David Ragan          Ford         250
14.  A.J. Allmendinger    Toyota       250
15.  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet    250
16.  Ryan Newman          Dodge        250
17.  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet    250
18.  Patrick Carpentier   Dodge        250
19.  Martin Truex Jr      Chevrolet    250
20.  Juan Montoya         Dodge        250
21.  Bobby Labonte        Dodge        250
22.  Tony Stewart         Toyota       250
23.  David Gilliland      Ford         248
24.  Jamie McMurray       Ford         248
25.  Scott Riggs          Chevrolet    248
26.  Casey Mears          Chevrolet    248
27.  Reed Sorenson        Dodge        248
28.  Travis Kvapil        Ford         248
29.  Sam Hornish Jr       Dodge        248
30.  Dave Blaney          Toyota       248
31.  Aric Almirola        Chevrolet    248
32.  Marcos Ambrose       Ford         248
33.  Michael Waltrip      Toyota       248
34.  Elliott Sadler       Dodge        248
35.  Mike Skinner         Toyota       248
36.  Regan Smith          Chevrolet    248
37.  Paul Menard          Chevrolet    248
38.  Kyle Petty           Dodge        248
39.  Kurt Busch           Dodge        247
40.  Robby Gordon         Dodge        247
41.  Ken Schrader         Toyota       246
42.  Johnny Sauter        Dodge        161
43.  Joe Nemechek         Chevrolet     67