Richmond NASCAR: Matt Kenseth dominates as 2015 Chase field set

Kenseth led 352 of the 400 laps in his Toyota, occasionally losing the lead at restarts but always able to muscle back through before long and then re-establish a cushion on the way to his fourth victory of 2015.

Team-mate Kyle Busch was second, while polesitter Joey Logano had to fight back for third after a strategy miscue just after quarter-distance.

Penske driver Logano was the only frontrunner who didn't pit for fresh tyres under a yellow for a tangle between Jeb Burton and Michael Annett, and he was swallowed up at the restart, falling outside the top 10 before recovering in the closing stints.

The battle for the final Chase spots was something of an anti-climax, with all 16 drivers who were provisionally in the title shootout pre-race hanging on to their spots.

Richard Petty Motorsports' Aric Almirola came closest to an upset as he surged to fourth place - only his second top-10 finish of the season - but that was not enough to stop Clint Bowyer and Paul Menard securing Chase places ahead of him with 10th and 26th in the race respectively.

Although Jeff Gordon remains winless in his farewell season, he confirmed his Chase status with seventh, behind Hendrick team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr and JGR's Denny Hamlin - who came from 25th on the grid to lead for a spell despite tearing a knee ligament while playing basketball on Tuesday.

Only three Hendrick drivers will be in the Chase, 18th on the night sealing Kasey Kahne's absence from the title race.

The only other hint of Chase tension came when Ryan Newman nearly slid into the wall on oil dropped by Reed Sorenson's car.

He survived to claim a Chase place with 20th, but Martin Truex Jr's race was ruined in the same incident as he clouted the barriers and required repairs to his Furniture Row Chevrolet.

Also sealing a Chase spot was Jamie McMurray, though the Ganassi driver simply had to start the race to do so given his existing points tally.

Reigning champion Kevin Harvick heads into this year's title shootout a little on the back foot in the face of Gibbs and Penske's recent form. The Stewart-Haas driver was a lapped 14th at Richmond.

The race was relatively uneventful, though Michael McDowell provided a curious incident when he clipped a safety truck during a debris caution and tore much of the back end from his Leavine Family Ford.

RESULTS - 400 LAPS:

2015 CHASE FIELD: