RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Jimmie Johnson has stormed into the Chase for the championship by winning his second consecutive race to grab a ton of momentum for his title defense.

The two-time defending Cup champion passed Tony Stewart and Martin Truex for the lead with 34 laps to go on Sunday at Richmond International Raceway. It was the final event before NASCAR's 10-race title hunt begins next week in New Hampshire.

Clint Bowyer locked down the last spot in the Chase for the championship field when David Ragan's gutsy challenge ended because of contact with multiple cars.

The Chase field is Johnson, Stewart, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Bowyer.

RACE RESULTS:

Sunday
At Richmond International Raceway
Richmond, Va.
Lap length: 0.75 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 400 laps, 120.4 driver rating, 190 points, $256,836.
2. (8) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 400, 122.9, 175, $205,461.
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400, 117.5, 170, $165,366.
4. (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400, 129.5, 165, $119,800.
5. (17) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 400, 100.6, 155, $137,533.
6. (5) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 400, 105.3, 150, $137,808.
7. (7) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, 117.9, 151, $130,011.
8. (10) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, 98.0, 147, $127,461.
9. (27) David Reutimann, Toyota, 400, 98.7, 148, $102,200.
10. (20) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 400, 86.8, 134, $82,550.
11. (25) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 400, 86.1, 130, $95,650.
12. (12) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 400, 93.6, 127, $90,925.
13. (2) Carl Edwards, Ford, 400, 85.8, 124, $121,325.
14. (6) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, 75.2, 121, $83,700.
15. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400, 105.2, 123, $94,425.
16. (18) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 400, 86.3, 120, $104,558.
17. (24) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 400, 57.6, 112, $100,939.
18. (26) David Gilliland, Ford, 400, 61.2, 109, $91,383.
19. (14) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 400, 66.2, 106, $102,641.
20. (38) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 400, 68.0, 103, $91,883.
21. (23) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 400, 57.7, 100, $109,661.
22. (32) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 400, 53.4, 97, $86,083.
23. (29) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 400, 66.7, 94, $80,600.
24. (41) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 400, 46.4, 91, $83,058.
25. (39) Patrick Carpentier, Dodge, 400, 53.8, 88, $71,650.
26. (30) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 400, 52.2, 85, $98,114.
27. (40) Ken Schrader, Toyota, 400, 43.0, 82, $79,075.
28. (34) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 400, 56.7, 79, $79,697.
29. (19) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 400, 66.6, 76, $75,525.
30. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 400, 59.6, 73, $95,808.
31. (33) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 400, 45.8, 70, $67,275.
32. (13) David Ragan, Ford, 400, 60.5, 67, $75,125.
33. (16) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 399, 70.5, 64, $109,075.
34. (28) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 399, 40.0, 61, $75,825.
35. (36) Bill Elliott, Ford, 399, 37.0, 58, $85,070.
36. (15) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 398, 52.8, 55, $74,575.
37. (21) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 398, 52.5, 52, $92,795.
38. (37) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 398, 29.8, 49, $111,900.
39. (9) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 398, 65.0, 51, $113,841.
40. (42) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 398, 26.4, 43, $66,075.
41. (43) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 397, 35.2, 40, $65,930.
42. (35) Robby Gordon, Dodge, 392, 28.5, 37, $73,810.
43. (31) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 335, 26.4, 34, $65,669.
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Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 92.680 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 14 minutes, 13 seconds.
Margin of Victory: .365 seconds.
Caution Flags: 14 for 71 laps.
Lead Changes: 22 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders: Ky.Busch 1-28, Harvick 29-37, J.Gordon 38-43, Harvick 44-76, Hamlin 77-80, Earnhardt Jr. 81-133, Harvick 134-158, Earnhardt Jr. 159-165, Kenseth 166-167, Earnhardt Jr. 168-172, Harvick 173-185, Earnhardt Jr. 186, Ky. Busch 187-211, Earnhardt Jr. 212-235, Stewart 236-243, Reutimann 244-297, Stewart 298, Reutimann 299-348, Stewart 349-360, Truex Jr. 361-366, Johnson 367-389, Stewart 390-391, Johnson 392-400.
Leaders Summary: Reutimann 2 times for 104 laps, Earnhardt Jr. 5-90, Harvick 4-80, Ky.Busch 2-53, Johnson 2-32, Stewart 4-23, J.Gordon 1-6, Truex Jr. 1-6, Hamlin 1-4, Kenseth 1-2.
Point Standings: Ky.Busch 5,080, Edwards 5,050, Johnson 5,040, Earnhardt Jr. 5,010, Bowyer 5,010, Hamlin 5,010, Burton 5,010, Stewart 5,000, Biffle 5,000, J.Gordon 5,000, Harvick 5,000, Kenseth 5,000.
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NASCAR Driver Rating Formula
A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.
The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)