KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Jimmie Johnson didn't qualify where he wanted, and his car never quite cooperated during the final practice session at Kansas Speedway. So he spent Saturday evening in the garage area, going over different setups with the rest of his NASCAR team.
Johnson and his team must have figured things out. The defending series champion stormed to the front early Sunday, then weathered a series of late cautions before holding off Kasey Kahne in a green-white-checkered finish for his first win since April.
Johnson's dedication is a big reason he's moved into third place as he seeks his sixth straight Chase for the Sprint Cup title.
"Jimmie was very dedicated last night with us, trying to figure out the setup of the car," crew chief Chad Knaus said. "We pored over a lot of combinations and we came up with a good one."
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Johnson led 197 laps in one of the most dominant performances the track has ever seen. The victory was the 55th for Johnson, moving him into a tie with Rusty Wallace for the eighth on the career list, and the 199th for team owner Rick Hendrick.
"The competitor in all of us, we've known we've been close," Johnson said.
Johnson stumbled through the first two races in NASCAR's version of a postseason, and was 10th in the standings heading to Dover. A second-place finish last week gave him confidence, and his first win since Talladega moved him into third in the Chase behind Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick.
Jeff Gordon made things interesting when his engine blew up with three laps left.
Johnson chose not to pit before the sprint to the finish, but still managed to drive away from Kahne and Brad Keselowski on worn out tires. Keselowski, who won the Nationwide race Saturday, wound up third and climbed into fourth place in the Chase with six races left.
Matt Kenseth, who was fourth Sunday, will head to to Charlotte fifth overall.
Vettel wins title again
SUZUKA, Japan - Sebastian Vettel added his name to a select list Sunday, finishing third at the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest of the nine drivers who have won back-to-back Formula One titles.
Jenson Button won the race on the Suzuka circuit for his third victory of the season, finishing 1.160 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. Vettel, 24, of Germany, needed just one point to wrap up the title or for Button to not win the race.
Vettel joins Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jack Brabham, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Alonso as consecutive title winners.
"We've had a long year, a fantastic year," Vettel said.
