Fifth-place finish enough to keep Junior's Chase alive

FONTANA, Calif. -- The race within the race Sunday night at California Speedway was at least as interesting as the battle for the win in the Sharp AQUOS 500.

As Jimmie Johnson was motoring to his fifth victory of the season, tops in Nextel Cup, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was waging a secondary war that ultimately earned him a fifth-place finish.

Lap-by-Lap

Follow how Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead and held off competitors for a fifth-place finish at California keeping his Chase hopes alive.

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That wasn't bad, but it probably was not good enough.

Earnhardt entered the night 158 points out of 12th place in the driver points standings, with only Sunday's 500-miler and next Saturday's race at Richmond remaining before the top 12 are locked into the Chase for the Nextel Cup over the final 10 races. So he knew he had to drive the wheels off his No. 8 Chevrolet, finish as high as he could, and hope some of the others who entered the night near the bottom of the top 12 suffered through difficult nights.

Afterward, he had gained precious little. Kevin Harvick had slipped slightly and dropped to 12th in points, as Kurt Busch, who entered the night in 12th, moved up to 11th. But Earnhardt remained mired in 13th, still 128 points off the pace.

Clint Bowyer, who sits in ninth, can clinch a Chase berth just by starting the Richmond race -- and the same goes for Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt's teammate at Dale Earnhardt Inc. who sits in 10th.

Kurt Busch needs to finish just 36th or better at Richmond to clinch a spot in the Chase, while all Harvick has to do is finish 32nd or better and he's in -- regardless, in both of their cases, of what Earnhardt does. Basically, Earnhardt has to win at Richmond and hope for Busch or Harvick to struggle mightily to get in the Chase -- and Earnhardt hasn't won since the spring race at Richmond in 2006, more than a year ago.

"I don't know much about the system," a sweaty and obviously weary Earnhardt said after Sunday's 250-lap event. "I never cared to. I just go out and run as hard as I can. It doesn't look like we're going to make it, but we're not going to quit trying until they tell us we're not in."

There were flashes Sunday night when it appeared Earnhardt might actually have the goods to break his winless streak that now sits at 51 races (watch video).

On Lap 70, he was running second. But Kurt Busch wasn't far behind in sixth and had moved from 12th to 11th in the points standings. Harvick, running 17th at the time, had dropped two spots in the points standings and stood in 12th -- just 104 ahead of Earnhardt.

On the restart after a caution, Earnhardt passed Kyle Busch and took the lead. But he held it for only one lap before Busch caught and passed him again.

Earnhardt regained the race lead after a Lap 90 restart following yet another caution -- one of the record-tying 11 on the night. But again, he was unable to hold it for long.

By Lap 125 -- the halfway point of the race -- Earnhardt was running third and trailing Harvick, who was running 16th, by 112 points for the 12th spot. He pulled to within 99 by Lap 157, when he was back up to second and Harvick had fallen off to 19th after cycling through a round of green-flag pit stops.

But time was running out, and Earnhardt knew it. (Continued)