Ganassi hires new technical chief

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has announced the hiring of John Probst as its new technical director.

Probst will start his new role next month, having held the same title at the Red Bull Racing Team, where he worked for the past five years.

He will be EGR's first technical director, as the position is new within the organisation. Probst will work closely with the team's competition director Steve Hmiel, overseeing all engineering efforts for the two-car outfit.

"As a race team owner, you owe it to your team, partners and the fans to bring in good people whenever you have the opportunity," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "So when John became available we jumped at the opportunity to bring him on board. We think he will be a great addition to this team."

Before joining Red Bull, Probst - a graduate in physical and mechanical engineering - worked as vehicle dynamics supervisor for Ford Racing Technology, overseeing chassis development, set-up engineering, software and simulations.

With over 10 years of experience at the Ford Motor Company, Probst has held positions in other forms of racing as well, working for Stewart Grand Prix, Ford Racing Technology's Champ Car operation - where he was a programme manager - and also as an engineer for the Jaguar Formula 1 team.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has endured a tough 2011 and has yet to win this season, while continuing to make moves in order to regain its competitiveness. Earlier this year the team replaced Brian Pattie as Juan Pablo Montoya's crew chief, promoting Jim Pohlman from its research and development department.

The squad has only been a Chase contender once, back in 2009 with Juan Pablo Montoya, while last year it won four races including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.

Johnson: Dover no win or bust

Jimmie Johnson does not see this weekend's third round of the Chase as a must-win in order to keep his championship hopes alive.

The reigning Sprint Cup champion arrives to Dover tenth in the playoff standings, 29 points behind leader Tony Stewart following two of the ten championship-deciding races.

Three wins out of his last five races at the one-mile oval point at him getting his championship bid back on track, although Johnson doesn't believe it is time to panic yet.

While admitting he needs a strong result to move up in the Chase ranking, he says not winning on Sunday wouldn't mean he's out of the title race by any means.

"I don't think we're in a position where it's win or nothing," said Johnson. "We need to get a top-three run here. There's still eight races left. When we look at how well we performed at Chicago. Fuel got a hold of us there and we should have been top-three and we ended up 10th.

"Last weekend [at Loudon], even with some of the creative radio chatter that took place, I was in position to finish probably top-10 if I didn't have that contact with the #18 car [Kyle Busch] and that was just racing stuff. So, if could we take back and didn't have an 18th and had a 10th at Loudon, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.

"I don't think we're looking for the walk-off home run by any means right now. It's just finishing where we should...That is really the way I see it right now."

Although Tony Stewart has got his Chase to an impeccable start, taking two wins in a row, Johnson says it's too soon to jump to conclusions about the title. He reminds how the two-time champion struggled in the weeks leading up to the playoff and says the season hasn't seen anyone being able to carry the momentum all along.

He reckons he hasn't yet seen any of his rivals having what it takes to be dominant for the reminder of the season, like he probably has been for the past few years.

"It has been really tough to have a driver and team stay on top for a long period of time [this season]," said Johnson. "I think a lot of drivers spoke to that in the pre-Chase media before the Chase started.

"If you go back to Richmond, there was a stretch there where the No. 14 [Tony Stewart] wasn't running well. And some of Tony's comments, you could tell the place where they were mentally. It wasn't in a true championship mindset. Well, two weeks of winning can certainly turn that around.

"So, my point...we just don't know. It is easy, we all want to predict now. But we can't. We have to run all 10 races. Whoever does catch fire and can stay consistent, they can have a run-away year. But I haven't seen anything to show me that it is going to be a run-away year for anyone."

Johnson leads all current Sprint Cup drivers with six victories at Dover, four of them being Chase races. He last won at the track known as 'The monster mile' a year ago in what turned out to be his only win during the 2010 playoff.

Little change in 2012 Cup schedule

NASCAR announced next year's Sprint Cup series schedule, comprising 36 races from late February to mid-November.

As has been the case for the past few years, NASCAR's top series will open and close the season in the southern state of Florida with events at Daytona and Homestead respectively.

The schedule will get its usual warm-up event with the non-points Shootout at the 2.5-mile venue, followed by the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 26 - the latest date ever for the first race of the year since the 1966 season - as the only points-paying event of the month.

The main adjustments to the schedule have been the dates of the Talladega races, the first moving later in the year from April to May, the second one moving earlier in the autumn as the fourth event of the Chase.

Kansas gets an earlier date for its first race of the year at the end of April instead of June, while Kentucky Speedway will host its second ever Cup event in late June instead of early July. Dover will also have it's first race pushed to early June instead of May.

The Chase will kick off at Chicagoland as this year, while the other nine venues remain exactly the same as the current playoff with the shift in the order of the Talladega event as the only variation.

During the 40-week period between the Shootout and the final race of the year there will only be two breaks, one in April and a second in July, going non-stop for 17 straight weekends from the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in the last week of July until the Chase final on November 18.

The All-Star race, the second non-points event of the season, will take place as usual in late May, one week ahead of the season's longest race.

2/18 Daytona International Speedway (Shootout) 2/19 Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 500 Qualifying) 2/23 Daytona International Speedway (Duel) 2/26 Daytona 500 3/4 Phoenix International Raceway 3/11 Las Vegas Motor Speedway 3/18 Bristol Motor Speedway 3/25 Auto Club Speedway 4/1 Martinsville Speedway 4/14 Texas Motor Speedway 4/22 Kansas Speedway 4/28 Richmond International Raceway 5/6 Talladega Superway 5/12 Darlington Raceway 5/19 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (Charlotte Motor Speedway) 5/27 Charlotte Motor Speedway (600 miles) 6/3 Dover International Speedway 6/10 Pocono Raceway 6/17 Michigan International Speedway 6/24 Infineon Raceway 6/30 Kentucky Speedway 7/7 Daytona International Speedway 7/15 New Hampshire Motor Speedway 7/29 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 8/5 Pocono Raceway 8/12 Watkins Glen International 8/19 Michigan International Speedway 8/25 Bristol Motor Speedway 9/2 Atlanta Motor Speedway 9/8 Richmond International Raceway 9/16 Chicagoland Speedway 9/23 New Hampshire Motor Speedway 9/30 Dover International Speedway 10/7 Talladega Superway 10/13 Charlotte Motor Speedway 10/21 Kansas Speedway 10/28 Martinsville Speedway 11/4 Texas Motor Speedway 11/11 Phoenix International Raceway 11/18 Homestead-Miami Speedway

Hamlin rues inconsistent season

Denny Hamlin laments not having the consistency to battle for the Sprint Cup title this year, admitting his championship hopes are all but over now.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver currently ranks at the bottom of the Chase standing following two poor results that have him already 66 points behind leader Tony Stewart, after only two playoff races.

Last weekend at Loudon Hamlin looked set for a top-ten finish at worst but he ran out of fuel with three laps to go, finishing down in 29th. The result came after a number of issues hampered him at Chicagoland, where he crossed the finish line in 31st.

Hamlin admits it's unlikely his team will be able to recover from such a poor start to their title campaign.

"The run we had going into the Chase where we had three consecutive top-tens, that was the best we had run three consecutive weeks throughout our entire season," said Hamlin.

"So for us to ask to do it eight weeks in a row and then move those top-tens to top-fives would be very, very tough to do. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.

"So that's why we're going out each week just trying to have fun and worrying about winning a race before the season is over with."

Hamlin voiced his concern before the Chase about reliability issues, specifically with engines, probably costing him missing the playoff. Although he finally made it in, poor qualifying efforts, flat tyres and insufficient fuel mileage have been among the reasons for the worst Chase start among the title contenders.

The 30-year-old says he cannot single out a factor as the cause for his current performance and rues bad luck has also played a role in his lack of consistency this year.

"For us we've just honestly been stricken by a lot of bad luck," said Hamlin. "We've ran out of fuel, we've gotten in wrecks, we've cut tires, things like that.

"We've blown engines, we've had mechanical parts that have failed, had so many different things that's bitten us this year. I can't pinpoint one reason why those things have happened.

"So I don't know why I think it's - I personally think it's more coincidence than anything, but it's just we're just kind of falling into that trend at this point.

"But we're trying to turn that around and trying to figure out a way to get back to the top 5 in the points, and if we can do that, we're going to be bucking the trend."

Last year Hamlin was Jimmie Johnson's main title rival, winning eight races and leading the points heading into the season finale, before losing out after struggling under pressure at Homestead. This year he started the Chase 12th with only one win to his name, hoping to be an underdog in the title race.

He hopes his team is able to find again the speed and consistency of old in the eight races remaining this season, in order to build for a stronger 2012.

"This year we came into the Chase as an underdog," said Hamlin. "We're still obviously very much an underdog. My job to do these next eight races is to go have fun and try to win races. I want to end on a good note and be charging towards the front of the championship point battle by the end of the year.

"Whether we're going to get there or not, I don't know. Maybe there's just not enough races for us. But if there's not, at least we want to be heading in the right direction into 2012."

Hamlin remains to date the only driver to make the Chase in every full season he has entered besides reigning champion Johnson.

Keselowski buoyed by Chase start

Brad Keselowski is confident he can remain in close contention for the Sprint Cup title after a strong start to the play-off puts him third in the standings.

The Penske driver finished second at Loudon last weekend, making up two places in the closing laps as rivals Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle ran out of fuel while running ahead of him.

He was able to charge back from a difficult start to his race as balance issues and unlucky strategy calls placed him down in the order.

After two Chase events Keselowski has vaulted up from eleventh to third in the standings, making as much progress as leader Tony Stewart, who has also moved up eight positions following last weekend's race.

The current Nationwide Series champion has praised his team's efforts of capitalising on their chance to be a Chase contender and believes that if they can maintain their form in the next three weeks, they will definitely have a shot at the title.

"To me, if we get through this first four or five, you know I think we've got a really good shot at it," said Keselowski.

"To get through Chicago with a fifth and a second [at Loudon], it's a huge booster of morale for my team and momentum for Penske Racing. I just hope that we can continue to capitalise and I think that's why we are where we are.

"We've been able to capitalise with good execution on pit road and good adjustments on our car and not getting caught up in somebody else's mess. But you know that stuff can go the other way just as easily as it's gone the right way for us over the last few weeks.

"I'm still very proud of what we've done but we still have a long way to go, a really long way. There's eight big races left, and of course you can throw in Talladega - I don't think anybody can tell you what's going to happen there."

Keselowski is optimistic looking ahead to the tracks coming in the Chase, which he believes will favour his chances of keeping his momentum, particularly having already gone through venues where he didn't anticipate running strongly.

"Well you know I think we've run really well at the mile-and-a-half [tracks]," said Keselowski. "We needed to get through the races where we didn't feel like we were very good. These first two tracks were [in that category] and we did it.

"It just gets us in position. We're executing very well and have good momentum, good mojo.

"I think Dover, you can't help but compare it to Bristol and after winning Bristol I feel really good going there."

While Keselowski continues his march in the standings, moving up from 23rd since the series last raced at Loudon in mid-July, his Penske team-mate Kurt Busch has slid down to ninth in points after a difficult race at Loudon last Sunday.

Johnson still optimistic about title bid

Jimmie Johnson is still optimistic about his chances of defending his NASCAR Sprint Cup title despite ranking only 10th after two Chase races, his lowest ever position in the play-off.

The reigning champion finished 18th on Sunday in the second round of the Chase at Loudon after being unable to make much progress in the second half of the race, following a four-tyre pitstop that made him lose track position.

In the closing stages of the race he clashed with fellow title contender Kyle Busch while battling for position and contact at Turn 1 left Johnson with suspected damage to his car's steering.

"It was just the end of a bad day," said Johnson. "We didn't have a car like we thought we would... After practice, the car was just great. [In the race], it just didn't have the speed and then track position was so important and some pit calls didn't work out our way. But we'll take this one on the chin and go on to the next one."

Johnson seemed frustrated on the radio at one point, telling his crew chief Chad Knaus that his "cheerleading" was "annoying", as he struggled to charge through the field.

"I think he was just being optimistic there about what was left in my back pocket; but my suit doesn't have any back pockets," Johnson explained.

Despite never being ranked as low in the Chase as he is at present, Johnson was able to rebound last year despite not getting his title campaign off to good start in the Chase. Although he is 10th in the standing now, he is only six points behind Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jeff Gordon, who ranks fifth. The gap to points leader Tony Stewart is up to 29 out of a maximum 48 possible per race.

Up ahead in the Chase schedule is Dover, where Johnson won a year ago and where he has won three of his past five races, including two play-off events.

"My optimism is still high," says Johnson. "We didn't get the result [at Loudon], but if you look at Chicago where we were last week, we didn't get the finish that we should have had, but we had a tonne of speed and there are a lot of 1.5-mile tracks on the circuit.

"These first two races did not start as we had hoped that they would, but eight to go, there's still a lot that can happen."

Johnson has been unable to avoid trouble for the past three weeks, clashing with Kurt Busch at Richmond right before the Chase started and then running out of fuel last week at Chicagoland Speedway, though he took a 10th place finish despite that.

Stewart wins again at Loudon

Tony Stewart scored his second Chase victory in less than a week at Loudon, beating Clint Bowyer on fuel mileage to jump into the lead of the NASCAR Sprint Cup title play-off.

The two-time champion saw the coin flip after running out of fuel on the last lap while leading the same race last year, handing victory to his Richard Childress Racing rival. This time Bowyer was up front following the final round of pitstops, but he failed to make it to the end, running out of gas while leading with two laps remaining.

Stewart was there to pick up the victory on a day when his team had yet another good display, his team-mate Ryan Newman leading the race early on from pole position, although having to pit for fuel a few laps from the end cost Newman a top 10 finish.

Once again Stewart had to recover ground to start with, having qualified only 20th while his team-mate set the pace on a flying lap on Friday. Stewart was able to make good progress and was a top-10 contender for most of the second half of the race, his team making the right strategy calls that put him in contention for victory.

Although not the first time a driver has won the first two Chase races - Greg Biffle did it in 2008 - Stewart continues to make a strong claim for the championship as most of the favourites have not been able to get their title bids off to good starts.

"It's way too early to be counting chickens right now," said Stewart after his 41st career win, his eighth ever in a play-off race.

"The closer we got to the front, the better our car drove. We may not have been the best car at the end, Clint was just a tick better than us. I definitely did not know he was in this situation having to worry about fuel.

"The good thing is [crew chief] Darian Grubb told us we were two or three laps to the good [on fuel mileage] and I just got to run hard all the way to the end... We weren't the fastest car, but we were solid and could maintain that pace the whole last 100 laps."

Penske's Brad Keselowski finished second after struggling early on, picking up the runner-up spot from Roush Fenway's Biffle, who ran out of fuel on the last lap. Keselowski's solid finish allows him to keep his pre-Chase momentum and move up to third in the standings.

Biffle was the best of the Roush Fenway drivers in third ahead of Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon, who led the most laps after getting a lucky break during the second caution of the day, when he caught most of the field a lap down as he led while delaying his pitstop.

However Gordon had to surrender his victory hopes when he was informed that not enough fuel had gone inside the tank of his car after the last stop, although he still came home a strong fourth, which vaults him up six spots in the Chase ranking after running out of fuel last Monday at Chicagoland.

Red Bull's Brian Vickers rounded out the top five on a good day for his outfit, his team-mate Kasey Kahne leading for 42 laps but having to pit once more than the leaders 16 laps from the end while running inside the top five.

Roush's Matt Kenseth recovered from a spin after being tapped by team-mate Carl Edwards, the pair finishing sixth and eighth respectively split by the fellow Roush car of David Ragan. Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya had a solid day after a good strategy call allowed him to break inside the top 10, where he raced for most of the day.

Kyle Busch finished 11th after a late clash with reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, the pair making contact a couple of times at Turn 1 but the Hendrick driver suffering most, with suspected damage to his car's right side, which placed him down in 18th in the end. Johnson has dropped to 10th in the Chase, his worst ever position in the play-off ranking.

Former Chase leader Kevin Harvick was 12th but never a threat for victory. He rued his fuel mileage relative to his team-mate Bowyer over the radio in the closing laps but he eventually managed to make it to the end and lost only one spot in the play-off standings.

Hendrick Motorsport's troubled day was compounded by right-front flat tyres for Dale Earnhardt Jr and Mark Martin in the second half of the race, the latter after leading 46 laps and looking set for a strong finish.

Penske's Kurt Busch managed just a 22nd place, following a delay in pre-race inspection that had his car arrive on the grid at the last minute. He struggled for balance for most of the day and crossed the finish line a lap down, losing ground in the title battle.

Denny Hamlin's title hopes are all but over now as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver ran out of fuel with three laps to go, taking a 29th-place finish that keeps him at the bottom of the Chase ranking and 66 points off Stewart.

Newman takes sixth Loudon pole

Ryan Newman claimed pole position for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase round at New Hampshire, following a rain-interrupted qualifying session.

The Stewart Haas Racing driver made it two-for-two on pole positions at the one-mile oval, where he won in July after setting the pace in qualifying. His sixth career pole at Loudon comes only four days after his team-mate Tony Stewart won for the first time this season in a rain-delayed race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Newman had been fastest in practice earlier and thus had to run last in the order, which usually gives cooler track temperatures and slightly more grip in the afternoon. However right before the last few cars completed their runs, rain made for an unusual turn of events.

Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya, fifth earlier in practice, was put on hold by officials before being given clearance to hit the track due to the rain picking up. When asked to go a first time he refused to do so, as there was drizzle that then led officials to send the jet dryers out.

Nearly 50 minutes later the track was declared dry but Montoya struggled for grip as the first car out and ranked way down in the leaderboard. Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson was next, but he aborted his run before taking the green flag, after having a feel for the conditions.

Officials took a further look at the track and nearly five minutes later Johnson went for his run, running among the top-10 fastest. His Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jeff Gordon ran even faster after him, as did Red Bull's Kasey Kahne, but then Newman put the hammer down with the fastest lap of the session, running only a few hundredths of a second off the track record he set earlier this year.

"It was a little dramatic," said Newman. "You've got to look at what the #48 [Johnson] did. It was raining when he went out, so it's a tough situation, it's a tough call. NASCAR, I thought, did a good job monitoring the situation with us drivers.

"This is the same car we had here in July. We've got a good starting spot but don't know what's going to happen tomorrow with the weather. I feel like we've got a good race car, we just need to keep our nose clean."

Six out of the 12 Chase drivers took top 10 starting positions, Penske's Kurt Busch ended up fifth after holding on to provisional pole for a long time after struggling earlier in practice. Chase leader Kevin Harvick secured his best starting spot of the season with sixth ahead of Gordon and Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch, while Johnson ended up 10th.

Chicagoland winner Tony Stewart was 20th fastest, Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards struggled most of the day and was 23rd, while Denny Hamlin's bad streak continued after running slowest among the title contenders. He will start from row 14 on Sunday beside fellow Chaser Matt Kenseth.

JJ Yeley was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 32nd, while Steve Park and TJ Bell failed to make the field.

Two further practice sessions are scheduled for Saturday, although the weather forecasts show a high chance of rain in the morning at Loudon.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 28.213s 2. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 28.263s + 0.050s 3. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 28.287s + 0.074s 4. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 28.300s + 0.087s 5. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 28.343s + 0.130s 6. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 28.349s + 0.136s 7. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 28.390s + 0.177s 8. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 28.393s + 0.180s 9. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 28.393s + 0.180s 10. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 28.408s + 0.195s 11. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 28.412s + 0.199s 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 28.428s + 0.215s 13. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 28.462s + 0.249s 14. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 28.463s + 0.250s 15. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 28.468s + 0.255s 16. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 28.473s + 0.260s 17. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 28.476s + 0.263s 18. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 28.510s + 0.297s 19. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 28.515s + 0.302s 20. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 28.542s + 0.329s 21. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 28.561s + 0.348s 22. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 28.585s + 0.372s 23. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 28.594s + 0.381s 24. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 28.613s + 0.400s 25. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 28.658s + 0.445s 26. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 28.660s + 0.447s 27. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 28.710s + 0.497s 28. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 28.726s + 0.513s 29. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 28.730s + 0.517s 30. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet 28.761s + 0.548s 31. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 28.804s + 0.591s 32. JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 28.808s + 0.595s 33. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 28.844s + 0.631s 34. David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 28.886s + 0.673s 35. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 28.899s + 0.686s 36. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 28.997s + 0.784s 37. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 29.010s + 0.797s 38. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 29.062s + 0.849s 39. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 29.112s + 0.899s 40. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford 29.161s + 0.948s 41. Josh Wise Max Q Ford 29.175s + 0.962s 42. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet 29.575s + 1.362s 43. Scott Speed Whitney Ford 29.230s + 1.017s Did not qualify: Steve Park Baldwin Chevrolet 29.664s + 1.451s TJ Bell LTD Chevrolet 29.877s + 1.664s

Johnson: Tyres making fuel critical

Jimmie Johnson believes more durable tyres are playing a big role in NASCAR Sprint Cup races coming down to fuel mileage, and expects the tendency to continue through this year's Chase.

On Monday at Chicagoland Speedway, Johnson was one of several Chase contenders who ran out of fuel on the last lap of the race, following a final stint where all the leaders ran in fuel conservation mode to avoid an additional stop.

As the race went caution-free for the last 50 laps, many struggled to save enough - although some eventually succeeded, as race winner Tony Stewart claimed his first victory of the season ahead of an almost equally efficient Kevin Harvick.

Johnson, who was classified 10th after coasting to the finish line, believes fuel mileage has played a bigger role this year than in previous seasons. At least five races have come down to fuel-saving in 2011 and the reigning champion anticipates there will be more during the Chase, mainly due to the nature of the current Goodyear tyres and how they wear at most tracks.

With not enough performance reward for drivers risking pitting for fresh rubber and fuel while others save, he expects the tendency to continue.

"This year I think we'll see fuel mileage play a larger role in the championship than we have in years past," Johnson said at Loudon. "When you mention Phoenix, it's now repaved and we were there for a tyre test. You can't wear the tyre out on this new asphalt so it's going to be a fuel mileage race. Talladega to a certain degree will, here will be for sure.

"We have a lot of tracks with very low tyre wear that will promote fuel mileage races."

Matt Kenseth voiced his frustration last week after contending for victory for most of the race at Chicagoland, only to run dry on the last lap. He was also penalised after being pushed by fellow Ford driver JJ Yeley on the last lap, while trying to get across the finish line.

He agrees with Johnson's view that the tyres are causing races to unfold this way, but also feels the new E15 fuel and the aerodynamics of the current Cup car are factors. However he admits sometimes it just comes down to the timing of the cautions.

"This year there has been more of that than ever," said Kenseth about fuel-mileage races. "It honestly could come into play every week. It probably won't, but it could. It seems like we've had more of those races than we've ever had.

"With this tyre and the Ethanol fuel, we use more quantity of fuel - we use less gasoline, but we're using more fuel and our mileage isn't as good, so therefore we run less laps between fuel stops.

"As hard as it is to pass, all of those things come into play. When the last caution falls is the biggest thing. If the caution would have fallen four laps later, we would have run three more pace laps and we all would have made it and been able to race hard to the finish, but with the way the caution fell and a piece of metal being on the track, there's not a lot anybody can do about that."

Dale Earnhardt Jr, who finished third at Chicagoland and claimed his last victory three years ago on a fuel-economy run at Michigan, says there is little that can be done to avoid such scenarios taking place repeatedly.

He says teams have to consider fuel mileage a lot more than in the past in their pre-race preparations, not only in terms of engine settings but also in how the driver's technique has to adapt in order to be more efficient while saving.

"There is nothing really you can do to get rid of them," said Earnhardt. "Even if you change the size of the fuel cell, the way you race is you pit as soon as you get inside the pit window. However, you want to call it fate or whatever, it seems like all those cautions seem to come out at that particular time, right on the edge of making it to the end.

"They are part of the sport and they come around with more regularity than you would imagine.

"We all sort of study about what to do, what would be the best way to save gas, whether it be just lifting off the gas, simply lifting and just coasting into the corner, lifting earlier than you normally would, weather you need to turn it off, clutch the motor, whatever, there are all kinds of techniques that guys have and think it's good."

Last year the first round of the Chase at Loudon also came down to fuel mileage, with Stewart running out of gas while in the lead, handing victory to Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer.

Drivers: Two-car drafts will continue

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers still expect two-car tandems to prevail in next month's Chase race at Talladega, despite organisers announcing technical changes this week in an attempt to hinder them.

More horsepower through bigger holes in the restrictor plates and lower pressure on the relief valve of the cooling system are the two steps NASCAR has taken towards trying to limit the new style of racing that has ruled at Daytona and Talladega this year.

While marginally higher speeds are expected as a result, drivers seem to agree that there will not be a change in the way the race unfolds. Stewart Haas' Ryan Newman says the biggest change will come with the adjustment to the cooling system, although that too may well be negated by lower ambient temperatures.

"I think the speed is not so much of an issue," said Newman. "It is very difficult to do what we do, with the tandem drafts and getting our cars lined up bumper-to-bumper and not crashing each other or the entire field, it is obviously going to be faster from that standpoint.

"I don't know that five to 10 horsepower over 415 or whatever it is is going to be the answer to cars being able to bust out of line and pass somebody. I don't think that is necessarily the case.

"I do know that the biggest change of the two changes was the pop-off valve deal. Just trying to get the cars not to push as long, basically is NASCAR's objective there. Whether they want it or the fans want it, I don't know. To me it is something that we'll consider. But that eight pounds is a decent change, but actually the ambient weather conditions can be a bigger change than what that change was."

Six-time Talladega winner Jeff Gordon does not expect much of a change in the style of racing either, and he even anticipates drivers may be able to handle the change on the cooling by adjusting their drafting technique. However, he fears a need for more frequent swapping in the drafting pairings may ignite more incidents.

"I don't anticipate the rules changes changing much," said Gordon. "I'm not in favour of swapping more. I know that a lot of people don't like us running nose-to-tail like that but it's far more dangerous doing more swaps. [It] causes far more chances to have crashes when you're swapping, specially at the end of that race when you're in the middle of the pack and all of a sudden cars just swap.

"So I'd rather us not have to swap, I think the racing would be better and it'd be safer. The restrictor plate will make it interesting. I'm hoping that has more of an impact than anything else.

"I'm not even sure we're even still going to need to swap. We'll probably just going to have to move the nose out further to get more air to the radiator. We'll have to work on that in practice."

Dale Earnhardt Jr, who has been critical of the new style of racing, welcomed the changes announced by NASCAR but he doubts those alone will be enough to break up the tandems when they return to Talladega next month.

"I think it will make us go faster, which is something we needed to change in the way the racing is," Earnhardt said. "I think the racing was exciting - nobody can argue that the finish of that last Talladega race was not exciting.

"I like the different style of racing that we used to have. Where you did not have to have a partner, you didn't have to be pushing each other every lap. It is just not what I prefer and that is my own personal opinion.

"I think we will go a little faster, I am not sure it will break up the two-car drafting or not, but I hope it does. I think it was a great move."

NASCAR moves to limit tandem racing

NASCAR has announced technical changes ahead of next month's Chase race at Talladega in an attempt to limit the tandem racing that has prevailed this year at restrictor-plate tracks.

Drivers will have available up to 10 horsepower more relative to the last time they raced at the 2.66-mile oval in the spring, after NASCAR decided to increase the size of the restrictor-plate opening by 1/64th of an inch up to 57/64ths.

Additionally, the relief valve on the car's cooling system will be re-calibrated to reduce pressure by around eight pounds per square inch, which should prevent engines from running on the edge of the temperature gages for as long as before.

Similar moves were implemented ahead of the season-opener at Daytona, including setting a limit on the grille opening to decrease cooling and try to prevent drivers from pushing each other for many laps.

However, the two-car drafts still prevailed during the event as drivers were able to adapt their drafting technique to keep temperatures under control before having to switch positions in their formation.

The new style of drafting was also seen at Talladega and more recently during the summer at Daytona, where the need for a drafting partner was key to contend for victory.

"After the last few superspeedway races, we've heard many drivers express their desire to open up the size of the restrictor plate some and we thought the time was right to do that," said NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton.

"We anticipate these revisions in the rules package for Talladega will help continue to provide competitive and exciting racing for the fans."

Some drivers, including five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr have been critical of the new style of racing, calling for a change the last time the series raced at Talladega.

"Over the long haul, it's not the best," Earnhardt Jr said at the time. "It is not as good as 40 dudes in one pack racing like hell trying to get to the front. It is nowhere near as good as that. Give me that any day over this...

"People will realise it and go 'Yeah, ok.' The novelty of this... once new of all this wears off how interesting this is and how unique it is wears off, I think that people will start to see."

It remains to be seen how much will the new package get in hindering drivers from making the tandem as effective, with higher speeds expected from the increase in horsepower.

Hendrick Motorsports dominated earlier this year at Talladega, Johnson taking his only win of the season thus far while pushed by his team-mate Earnhardt.

Kenseth frustrated by fuel races

Matt Kenseth would like to see a fix to fuel-mileage races after he ran out of gas on the last lap of Monday's Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland, taking a hit on his chances of contending for this year's title.

The Roush Fenway racer led from pole the first portion of the rain-delayed event and was in contention for victory in the closing laps, where the leaders ran off the pace to try to save enough fuel to finish the race without pitting again.

Kenseth was set to secure at least a top-five finish but his tank ran empty on the last lap and he was then pushed by fellow Ford driver JJ Yeley so that he could cross the finish-line. Although he was initially classified eighth, he was penalised for being assisted on the last lap and was demoted to 21st, a blow to his championship bid.

"I don't know what to do about the fuel mileage," said Kenseth. "It is really frustrating to be a race car driver and they drop the green on the last run of the day when you are supposed to put on a show for the fans and you have to run half throttle and can't floor it or you will run out of gas.

"It is pretty aggravating to do all the work and qualifying and pit stops and adjustments but none of it makes a difference."

He added: "It is not a great definition of racing, but how are you going to fix it? I don't know how to fix it. It is frustrating. You do all that work and for nothing.

"There were so many races this year that have been like that already where the guy running half throttle, or pitted off sequence or whatever and has won. I wish they could figure out how to fix it because it is not a lot of fun."

Kenseth was among a number of Chase contenders who ran out of fuel, others including reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, former Chase leader Kyle Busch, Hendrick's Jeff Gordon and Stewart-Haas Ryan Newman.

Johnson and Newman still managed a top-ten finish, but Busch and Gordon have lost ground in the title race after being classified 22nd and 24th respectively.

Stewart takes first win of 2011

Tony Stewart ended a 32-race winless streak at Chicagoland Speedway, saving enough fuel while fending off a charging Kevin Harvick to kick off his Chase campaign with a victory in a rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

The two-time champion ran among the top five for most of the 400 miles after recovering from a poor qualifying that left him only 26th on the grid. By halfway through Stewart was already running behind the leaders but only when the caution waved for the sixth time, due to debris on the track, did he emerge as a serious contender for victory.

With 52 laps still remaining when the leaders pitted for the final time under the caution, it looked uncertain whether anyone would be able to drive to the chequered flag without stopping for a splash of fuel. Michael Waltrip Racing's Martin Truex gambled on staying out and took the lead, hoping for a further caution that was never waved in the end.

As the lap-count faded fuel economy dictated the pace of the field up front, some running slower than others in an effort to save enough to get to the end. Stewart had been running at Truex's pace but once the latter inevitably pitted for fuel, he grabbed the lead with 14 laps left.

Behind him Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and reigning champion Jimmie Johnson started to drop back with their fuel-saving tactics, while from behind Richard Childress driver Kevin Harvick went on a charge to try to make the most of having saved fuel earlier in the final stint.

Harvick moved up to second and started to close on Stewart but in the end the leader picked up his pace slightly after overtaking some backmarkers, keeping his rival at bay to claim the third Chicagoland victory of his career and his 40th at Cup level.

"I had a migraine all day yesterday so I am kind of glad we didn't race," said Stewart. "It's nice to finally get one of these this year and I guess if you have to wait to get the first one, it's alright to pick it here.

"We've had a miserable year but the last three weeks we really started coming into it. Going into the race I don't think [crew chief] Darian Grubb and I shared a thought that we would had as good a car as we needed to win."

Harvick had been around Stewart from the early laps as both made their way through the field from their poor starting spots. The RCR driver lamented a poor day in the pits and missing a possible fifth win of the season but still celebrated taking the Chase lead for the first time in his career.

Johnson and Kenseth ran out of fuel on the final lap, handing third to Dale Earnhardt Jr, the best placed of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers both in the race and the Chase. Earnhardt struggled at stages but ran strongly in the final stint - moving up in the order while capitalising on others failing to save enough fuel.

Roush's Edwards was fourth in the end after his team looked to be the pacesetter early on, while Penske's Brad Keselowski finished fifth ahead of his team-mate Kurt Busch. The former struggled with balance initially but following a strategy gamble he was able to move up in the order and secure a strong finish. Meanwhile Busch - who led the most laps - voiced his frustration on his radio over the lack of balance of his car on the last run, but still secured a solid finish.

Kenseth crossed the finish line eighth while pushed by fellow Ford driver Travis Kvapil after his tank ran empty. As the rules state a car cannot be assisted on the final lap he was penalised and pushed down to 21st as the last car on the lead lap.

That promoted Stewart's team-mate Ryan Newman to eighth despite running out of fuel, while Hendrick's Mark Martin and his team-mate Johnson - also out of gas - completed the top 10.

The fuel-saving gamble did not pay off for former Chase leader Kyle Busch, who pitted right before the end and finished 23rd, a lap down.

Similarly Jeff Gordon suffered a blow to his title hopes as he finished 22nd. Tyre and balance issues hampered him early on and after recovering and closing on a top 10 finish he also ran out of fuel.

Denny Hamlin pitted under green in the opening stages with a vibration and dropped a lap down, and later suffered a left-front puncture. An eventual 30th-place finish but puts him out of title contention.

Results - 267 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 2h47m41.000s 2. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 0.941s 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 7.043s 4. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 12.579s 5. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 15.649s 6. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge + 16.897s 7. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet + 17.240s 8. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 18.477s 9. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet + 19.606s 10. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 20.182s 11. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford + 20.671s 12. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota + 20.930s 13. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota + 21.464s 14. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 22.349s 15. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 22.717s 16. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota + 23.242s 17. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet + 23.456s 18. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 25.025s 19. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 38.038s 20. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 40.161s 21. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 1 lap 22. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota + 1 lap 23. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford + 1 lap 24. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet + 2 laps 25. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford + 2 laps 26. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 2 laps 27. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford + 2 laps 28. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet + 2 laps 29. Casey Mears Germain Toyota + 2 laps 30. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet + 3 laps 31. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota + 3 laps 32. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota + 4 laps 33. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet + 4 laps 34. JJ Yeley Front Row Ford + 4 laps 35. Scott Speed Whitney Ford + 7 laps 36. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 8 laps 37. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 31 laps Retirements: Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 163 laps Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 77 laps Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 45 laps David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 44 laps Josh Wise Max Q Ford 41 laps Michael McDowell HP Toyota 25 laps

Rain postpones Chase opener

The start of NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup Series has been postponed until Monday due to intermittent rain at Chicagoland Speedway.

For the first time since the Chase format was implemented, the first round of the play-off will be delayed to a Monday despite NASCAR's best efforts to get the race at least started on Sunday afternoon.

Nearly six hours after the scheduled starting time, officials decided to postpone the race as a slight drizzle turned into a heavy downpour, following hours of work from the track crews that almost had the circuit in race-ready condition following earlier rain.

The race has been rescheduled to 11am US local time in Chicagoland [Central Time]. There is still a 30 per cent chance of rain in the early hours of Monday but it decreases notably after that. Given the change in track conditions from the last time cars were on the track, a competition caution is expected to wave on lap 30 of the scheduled 267.

This year the first round of the play-off moved to Chicagoland Speedway after New Hampshire Motor Speedway staged the event in all previous Chase years. The Cup series has raced at the Joliet, Illinois track each year for the past 10, always during the summer in early July prior to this season.

Kenseth starts Chase from pole

Matt Kenseth claimed his second pole position of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season in qualifying for Sunday's opening Chase round at Chicagoland Speedway.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver confirmed the recent upturn in his qualifying form by posting a fastest lap of 29.469 seconds at an average speed of 183.243 mph, which bumped his team-mate Greg Biffle from pole and then held up as the benchmark for the rest of the session.

Kenseth, who starts the Chase from fourth place as the top ranked Ford driver, has now qualified among the top 10 nine times this season but most encouragingly, his last six top-10 starts have resulted in equally solid finishes.

"That was a great lap," Kenseth said. "Yesterday I really liked our car in qualifying trim. We had a pretty good lap there and for me to qualify this good, you know my car is pretty fast. We need to get a little bit more for [the race] but our car drove great today."

Richard Childress Racing's Paul Menard will start beside Kenseth from the front row, while behind them four Chase contenders will line up with Penske's Kurt Busch, Stewart Haas' Ryan Newman, Roush's Carl Edwards and the second Penske of Brad Keselowski completing the first three rows of the grid.

Biffle ended up seventh, followed by Red Bull's Brian Vickers, with Chase leader Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Joey Logano rounding out the top 10.

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson will line up 12th as the best from the Hendrick Motorsports camp while RCR's Kevin Harvick was the lowest Chase qualifier, setting the 30th fastest time.

Wood Brothers' Trevor Bayne was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 28th. Travis Kvapil, David Starr, Stephen Leicht and Mike Skinner failed to make the field.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 29.469s 2. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 29.488s + 0.019s 3. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 29.503s + 0.034s 4. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 29.507s + 0.038s 5. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 29.522s + 0.053s 6. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 29.531s + 0.062s 7. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 29.565s + 0.096s 8. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 29.575s + 0.106s 9. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 29.615s + 0.146s 10. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 29.620s + 0.151s 11. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 29.634s + 0.165s 12. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 29.667s + 0.198s 13. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 29.690s + 0.221s 14. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 29.696s + 0.227s 15. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 29.729s + 0.260s 16. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 29.752s + 0.283s 17. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 29.752s + 0.283s 18. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 29.767s + 0.298s 19. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 29.784s + 0.315s 20. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 29.787s + 0.318s 21. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 29.790s + 0.321s 22. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 29.790s + 0.321s 23. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 29.807s + 0.338s 24. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 29.812s + 0.343s 25. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 29.822s + 0.353s 26. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 29.828s + 0.359s 27. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 29.879s + 0.410s 28. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford 29.894s + 0.425s 29. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 29.900s + 0.431s 30. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 29.913s + 0.444s 31. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet 29.973s + 0.504s 32. JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 29.980s + 0.511s 33. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 29.990s + 0.521s 34. David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 29.991s + 0.522s 35. Scott Speed Whitney Ford 30.000s + 0.531s 36. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 30.016s + 0.547s 37. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 30.039s + 0.570s 38. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 30.196s + 0.727s 39. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 30.228s + 0.759s 40. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet 30.238s + 0.769s 41. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 30.262s + 0.793s 42. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford 30.313s + 0.844s 43. Josh Wise Max Q Ford 30.136s + 0.667s Did not qualify: Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 30.140s + 0.671s David Starr Leavine Ford 30.214s + 0.745s Stephen Leicht Baldwin Chevrolet 30.310s + 0.841s Mike Skinner Germain Chevrolet 30.592s + 1.123s

No action over Menard incident

Paul Menard and his Richard Childress Racing team look set to escape punishment after NASCAR reviewed evidence from Menard's spin in the closing laps of last week's race at Richmond.

NASCAR president Mike Helton told reporters at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday that officials would have a second look at the incident amid rivals' suspicions that Menard had spun intentionally to cause a caution a few laps from the end, as his RCR team-mate Kevin Harvick was struggling to beat Jeff Gordon to victory.

Gordon had taken the lead from Harvick right before the caution waved 15 laps from the finish at Richmond, when the RCR driver struggling with worn rear tyres. As the leaders pitted during the caution, Harvick came out of the pits leading the field and then kept his rivals at bay to claim his fourth win of the season.

Having reviewed the radio conversations between Menard and his team from last week's event, a NASCAR spokesman said on Saturday that officials did not find anything inappropriate.

On Friday Menard said he was on the track despite being several laps down and with a damaged car to try to retaliate against Matt Kenseth, with whom he had contact earlier in the race.

"It's behind me," said Menard about the controversy following Saturday's qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway, where he was second fastest.

"If they had something, I'd love to see it because I don't know what we would have done. But I talked to [race director] David Hoots a little earlier and we didn't talk about that at all. We just talked about racing.

"So, if they said that, I'm glad it's behind us and we're moving forward."

Harvick starts the Chase tied on points with leader Kyle Busch due to his four wins during the regular season, while Gordon ranks third, three points behind entering Sunday's play-off opener.

Bowyer in talks with Waltrip's team

Michael Waltrip says his team has held 'productive talks' with Clint Bowyer as the Richard Childress Racing driver works to secure a race seat for 2012.

Bowyer looks set for a future elsewhere as negotiations with RCR seem to have hit a stumbling block. Waltrip has now revealed publicly that his team has held conversations with the driver and a sponsor for next season.

"Michael Waltrip Racing has had very productive conversations with Clint and a sponsor. Today, however, we are not in a position to make a formal announcement," wrote Waltrip on his Twitter feed.

Bowyer also confirmed to reporters at Chicagoland Speedway that talks have taken place and hinted that he felt MWR might currently be the best option for his future.

Last weekend the 32-year-old missed the chance to join the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title and he currently ranks 14th in the points standings, still looking for his first win of the season. Out of RCR's four-car effort only Kevin Harvick was in a position to enter championship contention and he starts the Chase second, tied for points with leader Kyle Busch.

Michael Waltrip Racing currently operates a two-car team and provides technical support to JTG Daugherty Racing, which runs former Cup and Nationwide Series champion Bobby Labonte. It remains to be seen whether MWR would run Bowyer in a third car.

Earlier this week, Richard Petty Motorsports officials confirmed that they are no longer pursuing Bowyer's services as options continue to narrow for the 2008 Nationwide Series champion.

In nearly six full seasons at Cup level, Bowyer has won four races and finished a career best third in the standings in 2007. He has raced for RCR ever since his NASCAR debut in 2004.

NASCAR to investigate Menard, RCR

Paul Menard and his Richard Childress Racing team are under investigation from NASCAR amid allegations that they deliberately caused a caution last week at Richmond in an attempt to help Menard's team-mate Kevin Harvick win the race.

Suspicions have arisen from the radio communication between Menard and his team during the closing laps of last Saturday's race, where the RCR driver was continuously informed about the battle for lead between his team-mate Harvick and rival Jeff Gordon, while Menard was running several laps down after an incident involving Matt Kenseth caused damage to his car.

At one point in the radio conversation Menard's crew chief 'Slugger' Labbe was told to switch to a second radio channel and later the driver reported he felt the right rear tyre was losing air pressure until he spun on his own at the exit of Turn 4, causing the caution to wave with 15 laps remaining.

At the time Harvick was struggling for grip and had lost the lead to a charging Gordon. As the caution came out the leaders hit pit road for a final time to bolt on new tyres, giving Harvick a second chance to go for his fourth victory of the season, which he eventually claimed by leaving the pits ahead of Gordon and fending off Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards to the flag.

Menard has called accusations 'silly', saying he was on the track to try to retaliate against Kenseth for their previous incident, while Richard Childress put suspicions down to media speculation.

"There were no team orders despite all the speculation in the media," said team owner Childress in a statement. "I know Paul Menard well enough that he wouldn't have spun out on purpose even if he had been asked. We are at Chicagoland Speedway to win the race and get a great start toward the championship."

Although NASCAR initially said there were no indications of Menard doing anything inappropriate at Richmond, series president Mike Helton said on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway that the officials would take a second look at the evidence.

Gordon raised doubts about the issue while talking to reporters in Chicago on Thursday, further boosting the controversy ahead of the championship-deciding Chase that kicks off on Sunday. Gordon is starting the play-off three points behind Harvick due to the bonus the RCR driver earned for his Richmond win.

"In light of the suspicions, I guess, we're going to look into it and see if there is anything," Helton told reporters at Chicagoland Speedway. "A lot of it's going to be interpretation. But certainly I think it's on us to understand exactly what all we can find as far as facts are concerned.

"I remind everybody that an incident like that is a race procedure. We have in the past reacted to cars that caused cautions during a race. So it doesn't necessarily mean that we would find something after the fact and react to it, but it certainly would probably play a role in going forward as to our observations."

Richmond winner Harvick said Gordon questioning the caution that probably cost him a fourth win ahead of the Chase was simply him giving an opinion.

"He's voicing his opinion and I have no problem with that," said Harvick. "There's nothing that needs to be riled up or create a controversy. There's nothing there. It's something to where people have opinions and I have an opinion and that is not anything against Jeff Gordon or anybody involved. He's just asking questions and that's what he should do."

Despite all the controversy Helton still believes there is a strong 'code of ethics' among rivals in the series, although he insisted the sanctioning body will take a second look at the Richmond issue and decide what - if anything - needs to be ruled.

"We joke about there not being gentleman agreements anymore in our sport," Helton said. "But I do feel like there is a code of ethics among drivers that is alive and well and very strong, particularly in the Sprint Cup garage. I'm not necessarily overwhelmed by the chatter so far.

"Certainly we need to get our facts right and see what, if anything, went on and be prepared to officiate it. And as in the past, we have had conversations with drivers and car owners that are involved in the Chase or even before the Chase or when they come down in the wire to determine the championship. But I still think the code of ethics among the drivers on the racetrack is really, really strong."

Busch vows to put Johnson row behind

Kurt Busch hopes to keep his cool in this year's Chase and put his feud with Jimmie Johnson to rest as he vows to make the most of his chance of winning a second Sprint Cup title this year.

Last weekend at Richmond, Busch and the reigning champion clashed on the track twice, igniting once again a feud that has been on for a couple of years already.

Earlier this season they had a heated discussion following a race at Pocono, after they made contact on the track while battling for position in the closing laps.

Last Saturday right after the race Busch told ESPN TV crews that Johnson needed to "learn to race" when questioned about their on-track exchange, saying also that the Hendrick Motorsports driver has beaten rivals because of superior equipment.

A few days later, the 2004 champion has said he has talked to Johnson to try to put their feud behind as they both want to contend for this year's Sprint Cup title in the next ten weeks. Busch said his focus is not placed solely on beating Johnson right now.

"Well we talked about it afterwards and we don't need to continue to wreck race cars but we do need to continue to put on a good show," said Busch. "I mean, that's what our fans buy the tickets for and they want to see a genuine rivalry between drivers but we've got our work cut out for us in this Chase and the focus of 10 weeks.

"There's 12 drivers in this Chase, not just one other guy and we just need to stick to our guns on what's got us to this point and that's consistency. So for him and I, we're going to continue to race hard with each other but we know it's championship time now."

Despite his clash with Johnson, which ended up being costly for the five-time champion as he only managed a 31st place, Busch was able to recover to cross the line fifth. He admits anger often boosts his performances on the track, like his charge last Saturday night proved at Richmond.

"I would say that my tenacity on the track is definitely one that matches having that desire and that fire in the belly to be the best and to go out there and to race to win and to get the best finish each day," said Busch.

"That drive from within has drivers seeing red sometimes and I'm one that's guilty of that but I think I race better when I have anger. It just drives me to be my best and then you just have to snap out of it right after the race because you're coming back into the regular world. A lot of people don't see what drivers see through the windshield and what it takes to be successful."

Busch enters his sixth career Chase for the Sprint Cup next weekend at Chicagoland, which he will start from seventh place in the ranking, nine points behind his younger brother Kyle who leads the playoff.

Earnhardt relaxed about Chase

Dale Earnhardt Jr says he is not putting himself under pressure to return to the Chase this year but believes his team to be good enough to make it into the play-off when the field is set at Richmond tonight.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver arrives at the final race of the regular season needing a 20th place finish or better to secure a place in the championship battle, regardless of his rivals' results.

Earnhardt has missed the play-off for the past two seasons, but despite not winning thus far in 2011 he has been able to remain in the top 10 in the standings for most of the season and is on the verge of entering the Chase by virtue of his consistency.

However, he is open-minded about his chances of remaining eligible for the Chase while hoping he can make the most of the opportunity of possibly returning to the NASCAR Sprint Cup elite.

"Whatever happens is going to happen," said Earnhardt. "That is just what you are going to have to live with at the end of the night. We work really hard all year long and I feel good about our programme but it will be disappointing to miss an opportunity to race for the championship if we don't get in [on Saturday] night.

"I still like our opportunities going forward. As a group, we will just work hard. I feel like we are a good enough team to get it done tomorrow."

The 36-year-old last made the Chase during his first year at Hendrick in 2008 but finished the season at the bottom of the play-off standings. Earnhardt does not want a repeat of such a performance and instead prefers to place his focus on improving his team, even if it is at the expense of missing the cut this year.

"I put more pressure on myself the other times trying to make the Chase," Earnhardt said. "Making the Chase is important, but I have made the Chase before. I know what that feels like. It is great to make the Chase, it is good being in that group of guys but my main concern is for us to be more competitive as a team.

"It is really frustrating to make the Chase and then not be as competitive as you want to be during those races. That is really all I am thinking about."

He added: "We have a good opportunity to make the Chase and I think as a group we could have performed better in the last several weeks and what do we need to do to do that. That is really where my concern lies, where my worry is and what my mind is on: trying to be a better race team. Because if we are going to be in the Chase you want to put up a good account for yourself. You don't want to be a guy just taking up a spot in there."

Earnhardt starts Saturday night's race from 27th on the grid, right beside Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, who provisionally holds on to the final wildcard entry into the Chase.

Harvick wins as Chase field set

Kevin Harvick fended off Carl Edwards to claim his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the season while Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Denny Hamlin claimed the final Chase spots in an incident-filled race at Richmond.

Harvick had made the headlines earlier this week after announcing he is set to shut down the shop where his Truck and Nationwide Series team have operated for the past few seasons but on Saturday night he hit a high by winning the final race of the regular season, placing him tied in the Chase lead with Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch.

Richard Childress Racing driver Harvick was strong from the early running, leading 122 of the first 200 laps, but then seemed to have lost his momentum into the second half of the race as Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards suddenly became the benchmark.

However as the race entered the deciding stages, Edwards found himself having to save fuel in order to make it to the end after staying out during the 14th caution of the day. Despite having to back off, Edwards was able to hold on to third while Harvick, armed with fresh rubber and enough fuel to make it to the end, jumped to the lead again.

Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon put the pressure on Harvick and seemed to have the speed to pass him and go for the win but a record-tying 15th caution, 15 laps from the end, opened things up again up front. Harvick pitted and his rivals followed him down pit road, putting everyone on equal terms of fuel and tyres for the final shoot-out.

When the race resumed Gordon struggled to keep the pressure on Harvick and instead Edwards surged to become the RCR driver's main opponent, arriving on his rear bumper and trying to look for a way past.

However that was as far as he would get in his hope of beating the driver nicknamed 'the closer', as Harvick wrapped up his regular season with a fourth victory, the most he has ever achieved ahead of the Chase.

"That's what it's all about in these first 26 [races]," said Harvick, whose win gives him an additional three points to his total Chase tally of 2012, the same as leader Busch. "We learned that last year, we didn't win enough races in the Chase and we didn't think we did a very good job of that in the last 10. It's all about the last 10 races and we've got a little momentum now."

Edwards finished second and lamented not scoring those key bonus points as he starts the Chase nine behind the leaders, having won only once during the regular season - at Las Vegas early this year.

Gordon finished a strong third ahead of Roush Fenway's David Ragan, who was a top-five contender during the second half of the race while trying to look for a second win that would have placed him in the Chase as a wildcard.

Penske's Kurt Busch had an up and down night - as did his team-mate Brad Keselowski - but finished fifth in the end following a couple of on-track clashes with reigning champion Jimmie Johnson. The Hendrick driver led the race early on but his contact with Busch was the start of his demise as a possible contender for victory.

Tony Stewart had a solid race to seventh, which was more than enough to lock him in the Chase for the seventh time in his career - only missing it once in 2006. Two places behind him in the order was Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, who recovered from contact as soon as lap seven, which dropped him a lap down, to come home in ninth place and secure his sixth consecutive Chase entry as the final wildcard.

Even more dramatic than Hamlin's race was Dale Earnhardt Jr's night as the Hendrick Motorsports driver crashed into Clint Bowyer in the second incident of the night, after the RCR driver spun while battling for position with polesitter David Reutimann.

Earnhardt ran outside the top 20 for most of the night after being involved in a few incidents and at one point his chances of being in the Chase looked compromised but in the end a late push to 16th - coupled with Keselowski losing form in the final part of the race - put him back in title contention.

Keselowski looked to have the speed to contend for victory but in the end he struggled to a 12th place finish. However he enters his first Chase from 11th place as the leading wildcard thanks to his three wins this year.

Results - 400 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 3h20m12.000s 2. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 0.139s 3. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet + 2.373s 4. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford + 3.283s 5. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge + 3.437s 6. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota + 3.916s 7. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 4.579s 8. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 5.371s 9. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota + 5.473s 10. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet + 5.742s 11. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford + 6.032s 12. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 6.277s 13. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 6.794s 14. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 7.633s 15. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 8.667s 16. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 8.859s 17. Casey Mears Germain Toyota + 9.200s 18. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet + 9.517s 19. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet + 19.443s 20. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 20.623s 21. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 1 lap 22. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet + 1 lap 23. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 1 lap 24. Stephen Leicht Baldwin Chevrolet + 1 lap 25. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet + 1 lap 26. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota + 1 lap 27. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 3 laps 28. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford + 6 laps 29. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 7 laps 30. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 9 laps 31. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 38 laps 32. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet + 43 laps 33. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota + 72 laps 34. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 81 laps Retirements: Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 296 laps Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford 198 laps Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 51 laps Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 50 laps Michael McDowell HP Toyota 46 laps David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 42 laps Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 24 laps JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 22 laps Scott Speed Whitney Ford 7 laps

Hamlin confident of Chase spot

Denny Hamlin says he feels in control of his chances of making this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title as he provisionally holds the final wildcard entry into the play-off heading into the deciding race.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver enters Saturday night's event at Richmond with a win to his name and 12th in the points standings, 11 points ahead of his closest rival, Richard Petty's AJ Allmendinger - who does not have a victory this year and thus is not eligible for a wildcard.

Behind Allmendinger, Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer is only one point further behind in 14th, but he is also still looking for a win.

Hamlin claims he does not feel under pressure given the points scenario as his main rivals need a number of things to happen in order to jump ahead of him in the race for the final wildcard.

"I'm fine. Really, we control our own destiny just like they control their own destiny," said Hamlin. "We don't have to have help from a few other guys. I think it's probably easier on us than it is for the guys that have certain scenarios that have to happen for them to make it.

"Really, I'm racing this race as if it's just a normal season race like I have the last few years - no different."

Hamlin, a two-time winner at Richmond, says that having to secure a place in the play-off at the 0.75-mile track only makes him more comfortable. During his last four races at the venue he has captured two victories, a second and an 11th-place finish. Besides that, Joe Gibbs Racing has won the past five races at the track.

However the 30-year-old suggests he will race with a cautious approach given what is at stake.

"Here, Martinsville and Pocono, any one of those in a situation where I've got to perform well to make the Chase I'm pretty comfortable," Hamlin said. "We just need to go out there and make sure we don't take too many risks.

"Don't get off on some kind of fuel strategy, protect ourselves in the case that maybe those guys coming down and getting fuel and trying to run to the end... we've got to protect all of that to make sure we play offensively, but defensively also."

Last year Hamlin started the Chase as the top seed thanks to his six wins during the regular season but was unable to hold on to the position and despite entering the final race of the year with a chance of winning the championship, he struggled under pressure and finished runner-up to Jimmie Johnson in the title race.

He says this year he would be more of a underdog in the Chase given his less spectacular regular season, which features just one win so far.

"We were expected to win it all last year," he said. "Everyone expected us to. We expected to. With that hot summer that we had where we won all those races, we had the mindset of going out there and winning a championship.

"This year, if we get in, it's going to be like we're starting at the bottom, so we've got nowhere to go but forward. Where last year we started at the top and it's hard to maintain that, trust me.

"It's going to be a little different mindset. I'm going to look at it, personally, as everything from here on out if we do make it is a bonus, because luckily that one win could possibly give us a new lease on the season."

Hamlin has been a Chase contender since his first full season in Cup in 2006, when he finished third in the championship.

Johnson: Gordon is a title threat

Jimmie Johnson believes his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jeff Gordon is a serious championship threat, following Gordon's third win of the season in the last round at Atlanta.

Four-time series champion Gordon has become a stronger contender in the last few weeks, scoring consistent finishes and securing a spot in the Chase two weeks ago by virtue of his tally of wins, which is second only to Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch thus far during the year.

Johnson's team has seen a reshuffle ahead of this season after long-time crew chief Steve Letarte was moved to work alongside team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr, while Alan Gustafson, who previously worked with Mark Martin at Hendrick when he finished runner-up in the 2009 Chase, is now calling the shots on Gordon's #24 team.

Johnson believes Gordon and his new group have good chemistry, and he continues to see the spark in his team-mate, who's already into his 19th season at Cup level and still searching for a fifth Cup title.

"I think Jeff is a very serious threat for the championship," Johnson said. "I've been very impressed with the relationship that he and Alan have put together and the communication between those two.

"Each year we see Jeff and his excitement to continue and excitement to race and win and compete for championships. He still has that same excitement.

"This year, I think the difference has been the connection with he and Alan. They've done a great job and I feel that he is going to be a very serious threat for the championship."

Despite recognising Gordon's potential in the Chase, Johnson does not necessarily believe that his team-mate's current greater momentum is a pointer of what may happen early in the play-off. Besides Gordon's win earlier this week, he has also led the most laps in the last two races while Johnson still has only one win to his name this season.

"Momentum doesn't hurt going into the Chase; but, we've been without momentum [and other times] we've had momentum," said Johnson. "Another way to look at it is we've had momentum working against us and momentum working for us and we've been able to win [the title] either way.

"I've said all along, these final 10 races, it's its own world. When everything re-racks and the point spread is so small between first and 12th, it changes things and it's a whole new season. It's a clean sheet of paper and off you go."

Gordon has scored the most points of all four Hendrick drivers over the past six weeks, second only to Penske's Brad Keselowski among the whole field.

Bowyer worried about RCR future

Clint Bowyer might not return to Richard Childress Racing in 2012, and admits it would be "heartbreaking" to leave the team at the end of the season.

Bowyer, a Chase contender in three out of his five full seasons in the Sprint Cup Series, has yet to secure a deal for next year despite indicating a few weeks ago that a new multi-year agreement with his team was close to being set in stone. However, talks over the specifics of the deal have not progressed as expected and the continuity of their relationship looks now uncertain.

His boss Richard Childress left the door open to Bowyer driving elsewhere next season in an interview with America's Sirius XM NASCAR Radio this week while Bowyer, speaking at Richmond ahead of the final race of the regular season, admitted he is currently under pressure to get his future sorted.

The 32-year-old is currently 14th in the points standings and following an incident at the previous race in Atlanta, he has all but conceded his Chase hopes are over, although mathematically he is still in with a chance.

"There's a lot of pressure," said Bowyer. "Unfortunately it all comes together at once. It would have been nice to have the future out of the way three months ago, but it's just not the case. It's tough in today's world and you've got to be tough as well. You've just got to get through it and it is what it is.

"I am glad in a way it was a breath of fresh air last week because obviously that Chase is important to me. Going to the banquet and being a part of Champion's Week is important to me. I've been there. It's exciting and you want to be a part of it. But it isn't the end of the world. There's a lot of future left in me. I believe in this sport and hopefully it's right."

Bowyer has been a fixture at RCR since he first competed in NASCAR's second-tier series in 2004, claiming a Nationwide Series title and four Cup wins since then, and finishing a career-high third in the standings in only his second full season at NASCAR's top level in 2007.

He admits it would be sad to leave the outfit that gave him the biggest break of his racing career, but he hinted that it is time to make the decision to move on eventually.

"Oh, it would be heartbreaking; a tough deal," he said when asked about possibly leaving RCR. "That's family to me and it means a lot to me. I don't forget where I was standing when I got a phone call to get me this opportunity and change my life. It would be big. But the world goes on.

"You have to make decisions and those are performance-driven, business-driven, life, family, everything. It's just a lot of decisions you go through and everybody goes through those in life. Us racers are no different."

Last year Bowyer won twice during the Chase, starting the play-off with a victory at Loudon despite his car failing a post-race inspection and costing him a chance to be in closer contention for the title. This year he has yet to score his first win.

Reutimann on pole at Richmond

David Reutimann claimed his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup career pole in qualifying for Saturday's race at Richmond.

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver knocked Earnhardt Ganassi's Jamie McMurray from provisional pole with a best time of 21.196 seconds at an average speed of 127.383 mph. Reutimann had been among the top 10 in the first practice, then was not one of the top runners in the final session of the day, but despite that his benchmark went unbeaten through to the end of qualifying.

"This is our first pole here and the first pole in a while for us," said Reutimann. "We went from getting a couple a year to it being a little while. It's been a dry spell for us so it feels good. Things haven't gone quite the way we wanted them to this year, but we're working hard to get things turned around and I think what you're seeing is a direct result of some of the stuff that we're doing different."

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson - one of many running commemorative paint schemes to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks - showed great consistency in final practice and secured a spot on the second row of the grid beside his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Mark Martin. Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer, who still has an outside chance of entering title contention, was fifth and among the fastest in both practice sessions.

In a good session for RCR, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick were sixth and seventh ahead of Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards, Richard Petty's AJ Allmendinger (who is 13th in the points so on the cusp of a potential Chase spot) and Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya.

Joe Gibbs Racing's cars, which have won the past five races at Richmond, were 13th with Kyle Busch, 16th with Joey Logano while Denny Hamlin only 28th as he hopes to hang on to the final wildcard spot for the Chase.

Tony Stewart, 10th in the points entering the final race of the regular season, was 22nd fastest and needs only an 18th-place finish to secure his place in the play-off. Dale Earnhardt Jr, who needs a 20th place on Saturday night to return to Chase contention, will start from 27th.

"I don't remember what it's like to qualify in the top four here," said Stewart. "It's definitely a lot harder. In the spring race here we qualified in the back and got a lap down early and never could recover from it. But I think we've got a car that runs well... Hopefully, we'll get a lot of long, green-flag runs tomorrow night."

David Stremme was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 26th while Mike Skinner, Erik Darnell and TJ Bell failed to qualify.

Gordon feeling in best shape ever

Jeff Gordon believes to be in the best shape ever ahead of the Chase for the championship, following his third win of the season at Atlanta.

The four-time Sprint Cup series champion dominated for most of the running last Tuesday in the rain-delayed event but had to fend off a charging Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps, finally keeping him at bay to secure three more bonus points towards his Chase seeding.

Gordon has been in the playoff for the past six years but has not been in close contention for the title since 2007, when he was the main opponent of his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate. Back then he won six races, four of them during the regular season, finally coming second to Johnson in the standings.

The 40-year-old believes that his third victory of the season proves he's got what it takes to really be in the thick of the fight for an elusive fifth Sprint Cup series title.

Thus far, he has also led more laps than Johnson this year, proving his outright speed is up there with the current best.

"We've proven that we can win," said Gordon. "I think you have to win to be able to win the championship and you also have to send a message to your competitors that they know you can win.

"And also the laps led. To me it's like getting top 5s is important because if you can get top 5s it shows you can win.

"If you get enough top 5s, usually you'll find yourself into Victory Lane. The same thing with leading laps. You lead enough laps, you're probably going to find yourself getting to Victory Lane.

"And so I think those two things are very significant right now the laps led and the fact that we're pulling off the wins when we're strong."

Gordon claimed his 85th Cup career victory on Tuesday at Atlanta and is now in sole possession of third in the all-time winners list behind legends Richard Petty and David Pearson. His three wins this year are the most he's ever claimed during a year since 2007, all coming at very different tracks: Phoenix, Pocono and Atlanta.

Earlier this year speaking to AUTOSPORT Gordon wasn't as confident of his team having championship-calibre form, specially on intermediate tracks such as Atlanta where it struggled early on. His win this week thus comes as a major boost, as those are the tracks that prevail during the last ten weeks of the season.

The Hendrick driver is optimistic ahead of the playoff and believes he's never been in such good shape entering the Chase since it was implemented in 2004.

"I mean, this is to me the strongest that - I mean '07 we were strong, but you know the difference in '07 was I dreaded going to Phoenix in '07," said Gordon.

"And I know that the track has changed you know since earlier this year where we won there. But I'm looking forward to going to Phoenix, because [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] is, he's really good there. And they build great race cars for that type of racetrack.

"We've had to work really hard this year at the mile-and-a-half stuff. That's what I love. Right now our momentum has shifted to make us better at those tracks. They're going to be significant in The Chase.

"I feel like when you go into the debriefs and you're talking to the team in the meetings and you look at how we're planning, you know, how we're improving and the areas that we can get better in and how we're addressing it, to me this is the best that we've been since I can remember. Certainly since The Chase has started."

Gordon's last Cup title came in 2001, before the playoff format came into force. Since then, Gordon's best championship result has been his runner up spot in 2007.

Gordon beats Johnson in epic finish

Jeff Gordon held off reigning champion Jimmie Johnson to claim his 85th Sprint Cup Series career victory in a rain-delayed event at Atlanta.

The four-time champion is now in sole possession of third place in the all-time winners list, with only legends Richard Petty and David Pearson ahead of him, thanks to his third victory of the season.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver was the class of the field all day but faced tough opposition from his team-mate Johnson who put the pressure on during the closing laps as both struggled for grip with worn tyres following a long green-flag run.

Gordon led 146 out of the 325 scheduled laps and seemed to have the race under control following the final round of pitstops. However his team-mate seemed to be able to manage his last set of tyres slightly better in the end and as Gordon's #24 Chevrolet started sliding around, Johnson rapidly closed in, looking for a way past.

Gordon put up a fight and made the most out of the grip still available to him. As the lap-count faded Johnson also started sliding and suddenly both seemed to be racing as if on dirt, as their cars drifted sideways out of the corners at more than 160mph.

Johnson experimented with different lines around the crucial final corner but his more experienced team-mate didn't put a foot wrong under pressure, finally pulling out a victory that nobody expected to be quite as dramatic.

Gordon's victory not only allowed him to defeat the series' benchmark right before the playoff, but also to do so at a track that could prove a measuring stick for the Chase, where intermediate venues like Atlanta prevail.

The reigning champion came close to pulling off the ultimate fightback as he struggled for balance early on and got close to dropping a lap down to Gordon before a timely caution and further set up adjustments brought his car to life.

Tony Stewart, in need of a solid result, finished a strong third which takes the pressure off his his team one week ahead of the cut for the final ten championship races. Behind him Penske's Kurt Busch was fourth and clinched a spot in the Chase as did his team-mate Brad Keselowski with a sixth-place finish.

Stewart's team-mate Ryan Newman was 20th at the flag, just the result he needed to secure a place in the championship battle as well.

Dale Earnhardt Jr continues to rank 10th in the standings following a lackluster showing, finishing only 19th ahead of Newman. However his closest challenger for a top-ten spot, Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer, ended up against the barrier following contact with Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya, thus easing the pressure on the Hendrick driver in the point standings.

Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards looked potential contenders for victory. Kenseth in particular led the race for 63 laps. Although his pitstops once again proved the class of the field, his team didn't fare as well in the decisive four-tyre changes.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin was eighth and continues to hold on to the final wildcard entry, while his team-mate Kyle Busch who led early on and was leading the points entering Tuesday's race, suffered with his car's balance after hitting the barrier in the first half of the race.

The race had to be interrupted twice due to rain, including a 24-minute red-flag period but eventually the scheduled distance was completed after 4 hours of running.

Atlanta race postponed to Tuesday

Rain has forced NASCAR officials to postpone round 26 of the Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta until Tuesday morning.

Following two days of dry weather at the venue, fears of Tropical Storm Lee bringing proceedings to a halt on race day materialised a few hours before the event. Despite the rain stopping momentarily and officials hoping to roll the cars on the track shortly before 10pm, their hopes were shortlived as rain returned with a vengeance around 9:20pm.

Heavy rain and severe weather is expected for Monday, which is Labour Day holiday in the US, and thus officials have rescheduled the race for Tuesday at 11am Eastern Time, although forecasts show more than 50 per cent chance of rain.

The race is the penultimate event ahead of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Series, with six spots still up for grabs into the championship play-off.

Kahne secures Atlanta pole

Kasey Kahne claimed his second pole position of the season in qualifying for Sunday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta, the penultimate round ahead of the Chase.

The Red Bull Racing driver beat the previous benchmark of the session set by Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch at the wheel of his #4 Toyota with a lap of 29.775 seconds at an average speed of 186.196 mph.

Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer, who needs a strong result on Sunday in order to remain in the hunt for a Chase spot, got closest to Kahne's time, finishing less than half a tenth of a second adrift to lock out a front row spot.

Although Kahne is not completely out of the Chase picture, he currently looks unlikely to be among the title contenders this season. But his pole provides a much needed boost for his squad, which is still trying to secure funding for next year as Red Bull is set to pull the plug on its backing at the end of the season.

"I was surprised a couple of guys didn't beat me," said Kahne. "Clint came really close, but other than that nobody was really too close, I guess. Brian Vickers is fourth so we have a couple of cars in the top two rows for tomorrow night, so it's exciting, it's good.

"We definitely need to win... We need to still work on the car a little bit and throw something at it for tomorrow night, but I think we're close. Can we win? Anybody can in this deal these days... If we can win I think we still have a shot at the Chase."

Points leader Busch - who had a brush with the Turn 4 wall in practice earlier in the day - ended up third ahead of Kahne's team-mate Vickers, while Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five after holding on to provisional pole for a while. Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards were sixth and seventh, with Stewart Haas' Ryan Newman and Penske's Kurt Busch completing the top 10.

Brad Keselowski, who was fastest in the first practice on Friday, was 14th fastest in qualifying after avoiding an engine change following damage to the oil-pan on his car's engine during practice. He will start from the seventh row of the grid beside JGR's Denny Hamlin, the final man holding a provisional wildcard Chase spot.

Tony Stewart, who won the last Cup race held at Atlanta a year ago, showed great consistency during long runs in the final practice and will see the green flag wave from 20th on the grid. He is hoping for a solid result to remain among the top 10 in the points with the play-off looming.

Michael McDowell was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 28th, while Tony Raines, David Stremme, Geoffrey Bodine and TJ Bell failed to make the field.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 29.775s 2. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet 29.819s + 0.044s 3. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 29.832s + 0.057s 4. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 29.843s + 0.068s 5. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 29.849s + 0.074s 6. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford 29.853s + 0.078s 7. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford 29.877s + 0.102s 8. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota 29.880s + 0.105s 9. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet 29.889s + 0.114s 10. Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 29.915s + 0.140s 11. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford 29.921s + 0.146s 12. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 29.939s + 0.164s 13. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 29.947s + 0.172s 14. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 29.949s + 0.174s 15. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 29.958s + 0.183s 16. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota 30.000s + 0.225s 17. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet 30.055s + 0.280s 18. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford 30.086s + 0.311s 19. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford 30.128s + 0.353s 20. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet 30.147s + 0.372s 21. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet 30.163s + 0.388s 22. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet 30.183s + 0.408s 23. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 30.230s + 0.455s 24. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota 30.232s + 0.457s 25. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet 30.239s + 0.464s 26. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 30.270s + 0.495s 27. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet 30.275s + 0.500s 28. Michael McDowell HP Toyota 30.291s + 0.516s 29. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet 30.312s + 0.537s 30. Scott Speed Whitney Chevrolet 30.319s + 0.544s 31. JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 30.378s + 0.603s 32. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet 30.388s + 0.613s 33. Robby Gordon Gordon Dodge 30.502s + 0.727s 34. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 30.513s + 0.738s 35. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet 30.556s + 0.781s 36. David Gilliland Front Row Ford 30.673s + 0.898s 37. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet 30.702s + 0.927s 38. Casey Mears Germain Toyota 30.757s + 0.982s 39. Mike Skinner Germain Toyota 30.798s + 1.023s 40. Mike Bliss FAS Lane Ford 30.819s + 1.044s 41. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford 30.822s + 1.047s 42. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet 31.060s + 1.285s 43. David Starr Leavine Ford 30.845s + 1.070s Did not qualify: Tony Raines Front Row Ford 30.870s + 1.095s David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 30.883s + 1.108s Geoffrey Bodine Baldwin Chevrolet 31.014s + 1.239s TJ Bell LTD Chevrolet 31.034s + 1.259s