Johnson holds on, takes Cup lead

Associated Press

September 29, 2008

Jimmie Johnson shows his joy after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Camping World RV 400. (Getty Images / September 29, 2008)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Jimmie Johnson barely held off a strong challenge from Carl Edwards yesterday at Kansas Speedway, winning the Camping World RV400 and vaulting into first place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Edwards, who overcame a poor starting position and two pit-lane incidents to catch and pass Johnson for the lead, lost the top spot to Johnson on a pit stop with 47laps to go. Edwards caught him on the last lap, shooting past Johnson on the low side of the banked 1.5-mile oval in turn three - a little too fast.

Edwards slid up the track and bounced off the wall as Johnson drove on to his fifth victory of the season, with Edwards holding on for second.

"That was cool," Johnson said moments later. "Where'd he come from? ... Great race, I saw the slide jump coming, dodged it and got a win."

Edwards was grinning after the race. "I planned on hitting the wall, 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."

Greg Biffle, who came into the third race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup with two straight victories, finished third.

Johnson leads Edwards by 10 points, with Biffle 35points behind and seven races to go.

Jeff Gordon, battling an illness, finished fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, all among the 12-man Chase field.

Regular-season points leader Kyle Busch had an early engine problem and finished 28th. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, a two-time Cup champion, finished 40th after colliding with Brian Vickers.

E-mail

Reprint

Get home delivery of The Sun and save over 50% off the newsstand price

Johnson holds on, takes Cup lead

Online resources

Going deep

Going deep Sun sports special reports and in-depth coverage
	> 1983 O's > Football: The tie that binds > Orioles > Baltimore Colts > Going deep: Other sports

Johnson holds on, takes Cup lead

Related links

2008 NASCAR season in pictures Photos

Related topic galleries: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Game Playing, Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs, Tony Stewart, NASCAR

Popular stories: Sports

Online resources

Going deep