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RICHMOND, Va. -- Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick did what they needed to do and Jimmie Johnson did just what he wanted to do Saturday night in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
While Johnson was celebrating his series-leading sixth win of the season and 29th of his career, Busch and Harvick were breathing a double sigh of relief after closing out Dale Earnhardt Jr. and locking up the final two spots in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup.
The 12-man, 10-race shootout begins next weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Earnhardt came from 21st at the start to run as high as second until his engine let go with six laps left in the race. He wound up 30th.
"Just disappointment, man," Earnhardt said. "It just seems like that's been the thing this season for us. We run good every week. We just ain't finishing races."
Meanwhile, Johnson's three-second win over Tony Stewart was worth 10 bonus points and ensured the defending Nextel Cup champion of starting the Chase atop the standings.
"I don't really have an answer," he said after driving his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane for the second week in a row. "We didn't have the best car tonight until the end."
Johnson beat Stewart out of the pits on lap 297 and led the final 104 laps. Stewart held off David Ragan, whose third place was the best of his rookie season.
"We just didn't end up where we needed to be," Stewart said. "We felt like we let one get away from us tonight."
Jeff Gordon placed fourth after leading a race-high 190 laps and Johnny Sauter took fifth.
Before a sellout crowd of more than 112,000, Earnhardt needed to pick up 128 points on Harvick or 141 on Busch to have a chance. Neither cooperated, although both got a brief scare when they were victimized by a midrace crash.
But Harvick was able to finish seventh and Busch ninth to leave Earnhardt with no chance. Thus, for the second time in three years, NASCAR's postseason will be missing its most popular driver.
Juan Pablo Montoya got the worst of a three-car crash on lap 242 that left his car on fire and forced an eight-minute halt to the race for cleanup.
"When you run bad, nothing happens. When you run great, something always happens," Montoya lamented.
In the chain reaction that ensued, Busch's car was rear-ended, causing slight damage. Harvick detoured through the grass to avoid contact, but the grass clogged the front of his car and caused the engine to overheat. A quick pit stop after the red flag was lifted fixed the problem.
A second red flag, stopping the race for 191/2 minutes, came out with 106 laps left. Jamie McMurray got the worst of that five-car scrum.
"I haven't hit that hard in a long time," McMurray said. "I thought it was all over with and somebody came in and just clobbered the side of me. When you're not ready for them, they hurt a lot worse."
Gordon, starting on the outside of the front row alongside pole-sitter Johnson, passed his teammate on the opening lap and went on to lead 60 of the first 100 laps.
Gordon continued to set the pace until lap 167, when he was passed by Carl Edwards. But Edwards' stay at the front was brief as 15 laps later the engine let go on his Roush Fenway Racing Ford.
With his spot in the Chase secure, Edwards was able to make light of his abrupt exit. Asked what went wrong, he said: "I don't know, but I think it was something real important because it wouldn't go very good after that quit working."
The front proved dangerous again just a few laps later when Clint Bowyer, the only driver in the Chase without a win, spun after making contact trying to pass leader Denny Hamlin. Gordon took advantage to regain the top spot, which he held until Stewart got around him.
The race finished near midnight as it was slowed by 12 cautions for 71 laps in addition to the two red-flag stoppages.
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