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Johnson Wins Fourth Consecutive Race; Takes Chase Lead To Homestead

Jimmie Johnson won his fourth straight race, the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, to expand his lead over Jeff Gordon in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup, putting the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in position to win his second straight championship next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Fifth on a restart on Lap 275, after the 10th caution of the race, Johnson moved quickly to the front, passing Matt Kenseth for second position on Lap 283 and powering past Martin Truex Jr. for the lead on Lap 288 of the 312-lap race.

From that point on, Johnson pulled away to record his series- and career-best 10th victory of season. It is the 33rd of his career, tying him for 18th all time with Fireball Roberts.

In a scramble for position behind him, Greg Biffle finished second .870 seconds behind Johnson. Kenseth ran third, followed by Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. Gordon was 10th and dropped 86 points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate heading to the finale in Florida.

Johnson and Gordon are the only drivers with a chance to win to the title. Johnson is the first driver to win four straight races since Gordon accomplished the feat in 1998.

Regardless of the outcome at Homestead, team owner Rick Hendrick will claim his seventh Cup title. Johnson can clinch the championship with a finish of 18th or better in the final race.

?I just go out and do my job and give it everything I have,? Johnson said. ?I?m dumbfounded. I?m just as shocked as everybody watching the race.?

Gordon struggled with the handling of his No. 24 Chevrolet throughout the race, though he ran as high as second after the leaders got off-sequence on pit stops. Gordon restarted fourth and Johnson 10th after a caution for Kasey Kahne?s wreck on Lap 148, but Johnson ran down Gordon for the second position 25 laps later, as the No. 48 began to assert its dominance.

The eighth caution of the race, for Dave Blaney?s spin in Turn 2 on Lap 233, put all the front-runners back on the same pit sequence. With a two-tire call, Newman won the race off pit road and led the field to a restart on Lap 240, with Kenseth second, Stewart third, Clint Bowyer fourth, Truex fifth and Johnson sixth.

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