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Johnson Exits Texas With Chase Lead ? Again

FORT WORTH, Texas ? Defending NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Jimmie Johnson wants history to repeat itself.

It was at Texas Motor Speedway one year ago that Johnson took the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points lead and never looked back. Sunday, before a screaming crowd of more than 150,000 fans, Johnson battled hard-luck Matt Kenseth side-by-side over the last 20 laps and finally passed him with two laps to go to capture the Dickies 500 ? and as a result, moved to the top of the 2007 Chase standings.

Johnson’s win, his first at Texas and ninth of this season, came at the end of one of the most competitive races in Texas Motor Speedway history, as driver after driver went to the front of the field in a burst of speed.

Johnson, however, saved his best for last, running in the top 10 most of the sunny afternoon as pit strategy and track position played a huge role in who ran up front. Johnson’s pit crew, led by crew chief Chad Knaus, changed four tires on Johnson’s final pit stop. The only cars beating him off pit road were cars that took on just two tires. Both Ryan Newman and Kenseth, as well as a couple others, beat Johnson back on the track with a 26-lap shootout remaining.

Trailing Johnson and Kenseth at the finish were pole winner Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman. Jeff Gordon, who came into the event with a nine-point Chase lead over Johnson, finished seventh.

Johnson now holds a 30-point lead over Gordon in the Chase with two races remaining ? at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kyle Busch led more laps than anyone in the race but his final pit stop did not match the speed of others and he came out behind most of the frontrunners. Kyle’s brother Kurt was also a strong contender before a rash of bad luck cost him laps and track position.

The race had a record 12 caution flags and resembled a game of chess with pit strategy playing a huge role in the outcome. Crew chiefs, however, had to make their moves much quicker than a chess player. Chess allows plenty of time to think. Caution flags prompt quick reactions: Pit or don’t pit? Two tires or four tires? Can a driver hang on to his track position with used tires?

Johnson and Gordon swapped the points lead back and forth throughout the event before Johnson came on so strongly at the finish.

Another duel involved Kenseth with then-leader Denny Hamlin, who diced back and forth with Kenseth for several laps before the two touched, putting Hamlin into the wall. It was a heartbreaking moment for Hamlin, who had raced with the leaders throughout the 334-lap race.

Several other drivers led the way in the highly-competitive race, including Kurt Busch, Newman, Truex, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 14th, and former Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya, who lost a cylinder and finished back in the pack.

Going into next Sunday?s race at Phoenix International Raceway ? the next-to-last event of the season ? seven of the 12 Chase drivers have been eliminated from championship contention. The top six: Johnson (6,382), Gordon (6.352), Clint Bowyer (6,201), Kyle Busch (6,043), Carl Edwards (6,025) and Tony Stewart (6,009).

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