By Reid Spencer

KANSAS CITY, KS -09/28/2008- Jimmie Johnson moved one step closer to a third straight championship with a victory in Sunday's Camping World RV 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

Johnson's 38th career victory, his fifth of the season, also propelled the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet into the top spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 10 points ahead of Carl Edwards, who threatened to steal the win from Johnson with a kamikaze run into the third corner on the final lap.

After Edwards surged past Johnson, however, his No. 99 Ford banged the wall in the center of the turn, and Johnson slipped back past his rival to the inside. The Lowe's Chevy crossed the finish line .280 second ahead of Edwards' Ford.

Greg Biffle edged Jeff Gordon for the third position, and Matt Kenseth finished fifth as the Chase field began to narrow toward a three-man race for the title. Johnson leads Edwards by 10 points and Biffle by 30. Fourth-place Jeff Burton is 121 points behind Johnson with seven races left.

"Just treat it like another day," was Johnson's mantra as he left pit road and began his pace laps.

"The biggest deal about being here, Jimmie, is that we're pretty close to Muskogee," crew chief Chad Knaus quipped, referring to the Oklahoma birthplace of Johnson's wife, Chandra.

"Might have an effect," Johnson conceded, tongue in cheek.

"Take a good look at those switches there, bud," Knaus rejoined.

"That second transmission was a little bit scratchy," Johnson said of the radio signal.

"I'm right in front of the big screen (SprintVision)," Knaus told his driver. "If I have to, I'll plug in the big antenna. Thumbs up. Let's have a good one. Give those belts a tug and check your steering wheel. Warm those tires up. You are on stickers."

"All right. Tighten 'em up," interjected spotter Stevie Reeves. "Coming to green this time. Have a good one. All right, pace car's down. You're the man."

Johnson started from the pole and led the first lap, collecting five bonus points for doing so. "All right. That's five," Knaus said. "Settle in now."

"Tight through the center (of the corners)," Johnson radioed on lap 4, describing his handling characteristics. "If I get in soft, it'll turn."

"I think it's going to get better as you run," Knaus suggested.

"Exit (from the corners) just started to get really straight," Johnson added on lap 8, still in the lead. "Looks like it's turning strong everywhere now."

"There's guys running the top (racing groove) already, so it's blown off, if you need it," Reeves advised Johnson on lap 13.

"Loose off, a little snug in the center," the driver reported on lap 15.

"10-4, we can fix that," Knaus replied.

"Sometimes it's loose in the center, so I'd say it's more loose than anything," Johnson added.

On lap 17, Kenseth took the lead from Johnson on the backstretch.

"I moved up (the track)," Johnson radioed on lap 24. "I'm tight center, still loose off."

"Doing everything we can, bud," Knaus said on lap 28. "We've got to try to stay ahead of that 83 (fourth-place Brian Vickers). He's two back."

On lap 29, Martin Truex Jr. passed Johnson for second, and, two laps later, Vickers took the third position from his former Hendrick teammate.

"If you need to put some front brake in that to try to help you through the center, that's OK," Knaus suggested. "And make sure your fans are right, too."

"10-4, entry's not too bad," Johnson replied.

"Was I faster down on the bottom?" Johnson asked on lap 35, after running a couple of circuits in the low groove.

"Honestly, Jimmie, either way you're off," Knaus told him. "I think it will be faster up high, if you can hit it right."

"Hang onto it," Knaus added on lap 43. "Eight more (laps before the first pit stop)."

"The exit has tightened up some for me," Johnson told Knaus two laps later.

"I'm going to make some major adjustments to try to tighten you up," Knaus promised. "We're about three-tenths off where we need to be."

"It's plowing in the center, so you'd better do something for the center," Johnson added.

"Pit this time," Knaus told his driver on lap 49. "Tell that 5 car (teammate Casey Mears), Steve."

"Looks like you're going to end up third or fourth here," Knaus told Johnson on lap 53, after the cycle of green-flag pit stops was complete.

"I'm tight still in the center, but you gave it a little more front grip," Johnson told Knaus on lap 60, still in the third position.

"I'm probably best on new tires," the driver added on lap 71. "If I get (into the corner) the least bit too hard on old tires, I hit the splitter."

Lap 74 brought the first caution of the race when Ryan Newman scraped the outside wall in turn 2.

"Raise the panhard bar up a half. Both batteries on," Knaus ordered as Johnson brought the Lowe's Chevy to the pits for service.

Johnson lost a spot on pit road. Nevertheless, Knaus told him, "That was perfect getting in the box."

The Lowe's Chevy restarted fourth on lap 80, and on lap 85 Johnson passed Gordon for third. Two laps later he passed Truex for the second position.

"Just a little snug through the center," Johnson reported on lap 92.

On lap 94, after Kyle Petty spun in turn 2 to cause the second caution of the race, Johnson told Knaus, "As the pace begins to slow down, the grip is getting better. I didn't realize I needed help on entry, but that was a lot better. A lot of good things here."

Johnson restarted fifth on lap 99, and on lap 102 he passed Elliott Sadler for fourth. Two laps later he got past Jeff Burton for third.

"Nice job, Jimmie," Knaus said.

"I'm beating up the rear tires a little bit here," Johnson told his crew chief.

"Once you get past these guys ahead of you, you can settle into a smooth pace," Knaus suggested.

By lap 107, Johnson had the lead, passing Mears to the outside off turn 2.

"The center's responding better, but it's sitting on the right rear hard," Johnson told Knaus on lap 108.

"Free to loose off, getting worse as we keep running," Johnson said on lap 116 after Joey Logano scraped the turn 3 wall to bring out the third caution.

After two more quick cautions, Johnson restarted second behind Truex on lap 134. On lap 137 he took the lead, passing Truex to the inside through turns 3 and 4.

"Good job, buddy," Knaus said. "Settle in now."

"A little snug through the center running the bottom," Johnson said on lap 143.

"The fastest car on the track now is the 99 (Edwards in fourth position)," Knaus said.

By lap 154, Johnson had opened a lead of more than four seconds, but Edwards was closing.

"Great job, bud. You're doing great," Knaus encouraged his driver. "The only one coming is the 99. He's about the same to a little bit faster than us.

"I've got a little bit of a tight center," Johnson said.

"10-4, we're ready for you," Knaus promised.

"You're doing great. Pitting you in about 15 (laps)," Knaus told his driver on lap 162.

On lap 176, Edwards passed the Lowe's Chevy for the lead off turn 2, and Johnson brought the car to the pits under green for four tires and fuel.

Quick pit work and Johnson's ability to get on and off pit road allowed the Lowe's Chevy to regain the lead through the cycle of pit stops.

"You are the leader," Knaus confirmed on lap 182. "The 99 is a second and a half back."

"Doesn't feel like those adjustments did that much for the center, but I'm a little free off," Johnson told Knaus on lap 185.

"Loose in, loose off, tight center," Johnson radioed after Edwards passed him for the lead on lap 191.

Johnson was mired in traffic when the race reached the 200-lap mark. "It'll be a lot better when you get past these guys, I promise you," Knaus told his driver.

Caution flew for the sixth time on lap 218 after Travis Kvapil spun in turn 2.

"You're going to have to focus here," Knaus told Johnson. "Close up on those guys coming into the pits."

The ensuing pit stop might have won the race for the Lowe's team. "Go, go, go," Knaus exhorted as Johnson beat Edwards off pit road. "Clear out. Yes! Got 'em. Great pit stops today, guys."

"Did you bring your cape this weekend?" Knaus asked, referring to Superman.

"It's in here somewhere," Johnson responded.

One more caution interrupted the flow of the race, but Johnson held the lead for the final restart on lap 230.

And despite Edwards' desperate bid on the final lap, Johnson held on for the victory as the race went green for the final 39 laps.

"One for the damn highlight reel there, buddy," Knaus said after the Lowe's Chevy crossed the finish line.

"Where the hell did he (Edwards) come from those last two laps?" Johnson asked rhetorically, then added, "That was fun!"

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS WINNINGS
1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 195/10 267 Running 364,411
2 34 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 175/5 267 Running 259,575
3 18 16 Greg Biffle Ford Sherwin Williams / 3M 165/0 267 Running 180,100
4 13 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 160/0 267 Running 184,786
5 3 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 160/5 267 Running 164,866
6 36 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 150/0 267 Running 156,411
7 37 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 146/0 267 Running 150,558
8 12 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 142/0 267 Running 114,550
9 14 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull 138/0 267 Running 102,850
10 4 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Garmin 134/0 267 Running 137,120
11 30 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 135/5 267 Running 133,816
12 24 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 127/0 267 Running 110,825
13 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 124/0 267 Running 104,475
14 10 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's 126/5 267 Running 108,675
15 9 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 118/0 267 Running 102,150
16 15 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 115/0 267 Running 136,775
17 16 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 112/0 267 Running 102,250
18 2 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 109/0 266 Running 126,108
19 40 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 111/5 266 Running 91,250
20 42 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 103/0 266 Running 120,808
21 8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 100/0 266 Running 119,841
22 32 38 David Gilliland Ford Ford. Drive one. 97/0 266 Running 107,308
23 25 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet Haas Automation 94/0 266 Running 86,100
24 21 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 91/0 266 Running 124,761
25 7 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 88/0 266 Running 102,770
26 17 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 85/0 266 Running 113,739
27 6 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Super Clean / Menards 82/0 266 Running 93,825
28 27 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 84/5 266 Running 100,125
29 19 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge LifeLock 81/5 266 Running 86,425
30 31 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 73/0 265 Running 84,675
31 26 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 70/0 265 Running 100,633
32 35 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 67/0 265 Running 89,275
33 23 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Penske Truck Rental 64/0 265 Running 126,650
34 33 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Hitachi Power Tools 61/0 264 Running 109,039
35 29 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 63/5 264 Running 94,808
36 20 147 Marcos Ambrose Ford Little Debbie 55/0 264 Running 80,450
37 39 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Menards 52/0 264 Running 99,883
38 43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 49/0 263 Running 80,000
39 28 96 Joey Logano Toyota DLP HDTV 46/0 263 Running 87,800
40 41 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 43/0 260 Running 128,336
41 22 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo 40/0 257 Running 88,922
42 38 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 37/0 235 Running 79,205
43 5 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 39/5 229 Transmission 110,425
* Denotes Rookie

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