KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson and team owner Rick Hendrick are back on top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. This time, they hope to stay there.

Johnson won Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway -- the fourth race of the 10-race "Chase for the Cup" -- to move 10 points ahead of Roush Racing's Carl Edwards in Johnson's quest for a third straight championship.

The victory was Johnson's fifth of the season and did not come until the final lap, when Edwards actually intentionally bounced off the speedway's outer wall in an effort to spring past Johnson.

"Where'd he come from?" Johnson asked after Edwards shot underneath him in the third turn of the final lap before banging hard off the wall, giving Johnson just enough room to drive back to the front.

Edwards' manuever showed how intensely and passionately America's top stock-car drivers are racing for the title.

Among those drivers was Jeff Gordon, Johnson's teammate, who used a strong showing to move into sixth in the standings and give Hendrick three drivers in the top 10.

For complete results, click here.

For complete standings, click here.

Edwards, who lost the lead to Johnson 47 laps from the end on the final pit stops by the leaders, said he intended to hit the wall on his desperation move on the final trip around the 1.5-mile oval.

"But I didn't plan on the wall slowing me down that much," he said.

In video games, you can just run into the wall and run it wide open. That's what I did, but it didn't quite work out the same as the video game."

Johnson, who held the top spot in the chase a couple of races ago before falling behind Edwards, appeared to have Sunday's race well in hand after regaining the lead on lap 220 of the 267-lap event.

Edwards -- who started 35th out of 43 drivers -- got the gap down to a few feet heading into the third turn on lap 266. But Johnson pulled away again as they reached the finish line.

"To be honest, I was cruising down the backstretch (on the last lap), had a decent lead, and I knew he would go to the bottom," Johnson told reporters after the race, according to an Associated Press article. "My concern was just making sure I was at his quarterpanel coming off of turn two. So I was thinking through what I needed to do and, next thing you know, that car goes flying by.

"I knew inside there was no damn way he was making the turn and just stayed on the brake and tried to get it redirected and turned down. Then I was so in awe of how far he drove it in. I watched him pound the wall and get back in the gas and thought: 'Man, he's serious about this win. I'd better get back in the gas myself.'"

Johnson said he saw plenty of "slide jumps" when he was running dirt-track races early in his career. But he added that Edwards still caught him off guard.

"(Edwards) took it in way beyond any sense of normal thinking and was committed to it," Johnson said.

"I still can't explain to you how surprised I was and shocked. Still, it was pretty damn cool to see him bouncing around like that and skipping off the wall."

Said Edwards: "I just really, really wanted to win this race. ... But Jimmie's a smart racer. I've done that to guys, too. When they slide-jump you, you just lift, go right back by them and watch them. I didn't know what was going to happen and just had to give it a try."

DOVER, Del. -- A dream day for Roush Racing was a nightmare for Kyle Busch.

Busch, the erstwhile NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader, plummeted to a distant 12th in the standings on Sunday as Roush teammates claimed the top three spots in the Camping World RV 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Busch had engine problems, finished last in the 43-car field and considered his championship hopes "up in smoke" following the race.

"Something broke inside the engine; I'm not sure what it is," he said. "At this point it doesn't matter. We're out of the title hunt; that's for sure."

Meanwhile, Roush racer Greg Biffle moved solidly into title contention with his second consecutive victory. After winning the first two races of the 10-race "Chase for the Cup," Biffle moved into a tie for second in the standings -- just 10 points behind leader and teammate Carl Edwards.

Roush driver Matt Kenseth finished second Sunday, with Edwards third. Edwards took over sole possession of the points lead, 10 points clear of Hendrick Motorsports driver and two-time defending points champion Jimmie Johnson.

Biffle became the first driver to win the first two races of the 10-race championship chase.

Also enjoying strong runs Sunday were the three drivers for Richard Childress Racing, each of whom finished in the top 10 (Kevin Harvick - 6th; Clint Bowyer -- 8th; Jeff Burton -- 9th).

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon finished seventh Sunday to move into the top 10 of the standings and give Hendrick three drivers in the top 10 (Johnson - T2nd; Gordon -- 8th; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -- 9th).

See complete story, results and standings

Labels: Dale Earnhardt, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson, Jr., Kyle Busch, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Richard Childress, Roush Racing

LOUDON, N.H. - Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson, after finishing second Sunday while one-time points leader Kyle Busch finished poorly, has moved into a tie for the lead in the chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Meanwhile, Greg Biffle, who began the chase as a long shot, used Sunday's victory over Johnson as a catalyst for getting back into title contention.

The first of the 10 "Chase for the Cup" races proved exciting and dramatic -- and also showed the fine line between being contender and pretender.

Winless for almost a year and seeded a distant ninth in the 12-driver field, few considered Biffle a serious contender prior to Sunday. But he used a self-described "textbook pass" on Johnson with 12 laps to go at New Hampshire International Raceway to snap a 33-race winless streak and vault all the way to third in the Chase standings.

Entering Sunday's second Chase race, at Dover, Del., Biffle trails co-leaders Johnson and Carl Edwards by just 30 points.

Johnson, the two-time defending series champion, seemed to have the first round of the Chase locked up after leading a race-high 96 laps. But Biffle was hopeful that a late caution would give him the chance he needed to run Johnson down. He got it when Patrick Carpentier spun late, setting up a restart with 13 laps to go.

Biffle slid past Johnson on the next lap to grab the surprise victory - his first victory since Kansas last September.

Edwards finished third, followed by Jeff Burton and Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as Chase drivers swept the top five spots.

Earnhardt and Burton go to Dover tied for fourth in the standings, 50 points back.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon fell one spot in the standings to 11th.

Busch, the regular-season points winner, struggled from the start in a disaster of an opening race and finished 34th -- 12 laps down.

Busch broke the sway bar on his Toyota just minutes after the race began and struggled to keep his car off the wall as he tried to nurse it to the mandatory first caution at lap 35. He barely made it and fell two laps off the pace - one lap because of a penalty - and restarted in 43rd place. He was in a later wreck.

After starting the Chase with an 80-point cushion, Busch tumbled all the way to eighth in the standings.

Labels: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Dover, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson, Jr., Kyle Busch, New Hampshire, Sprint Cup

Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson, winner of two straight races, enters the Chase for the Cup with momentum on his side. See complete story

RHC of Durham Makes Your Ride Green

Rick Hendrick Durham Auto Mall offers many vehicles that ease the cost of running on conventional fuels.

We deal with all the models of Chevrolet vehicles that are fitted with E85. This Flex Fuel, which is comprised of 85-percent ethanol and 15-percent gasoline, is being hailed as the most sensible and practical alternative fuel.

Five-sixths of the fuel that powers E85-flexible vehicles -- ethanol -- is made out of corn, which we grow plentifully in our country. The fuel also offers another advantage -- it is mostly renewable.

At this point in time, a dozen Chevy models are fitted with E85-flexible engines -- signifying a giant step toward reaching GM's ambitious target of making 50 percent of its annual vehicle production capable of running on E85 or bio-diesel by 2012.

It is no wonder, given GM's commitment to the environment and self-dependence, that the company ranks No. 1 among car manufacturers in having the highest number of alternative-fuel vehicles. A whopping 2.5 million flex-fuel GM vehicles run on the roads.

Here are the GM models that run on flex fuel. All are available at Rick Hendrick Durham Auto Mall.:

* Cbalt XFE Coupe: 36 mpg

* Cobalt XFE Sedan: 36 mpg

* Aveo 5: 34 mpg

* Aveo Sedan: 34 mpg

* Malibu Hybrid: 32 mpg

* Malibu LTZ: 32 mpg

* HHR: 30 mpg

* HHR Panel: 30 mpg

* Impala: 29 mpg

* Tahoe Hybrid 2WD: 22 mpg

* Tahoe 2WD: 20 mpg

* Silverado 1500: 20 mpg

Labels: E85, ethanol, flex-fuel, Labels: Rick Hendrick Chevrolet