Johnson edges Edwards at Kansas, takes points lead (cont'd)

It was a very long race for Edwards, who started 34th in the 43-car field after a poor qualifying effort on Friday.

On his first pit stop, Brian Vickers veered into his pit as Edwards was coming out of his and the two made contact. On Edward's next pit stop, he got out cleanly but was hit in the side by Dave Blaney, who had ricocheted off Burton.

That second collision forced Edwards to make another stop to have sheet metal pulled away from the tire. But Edwards was relentless as he drove through the field and took his first lead of the day on Lap 176 of 267.

"What a great race,'' Knaus said. "Jimmie's just done a great job. I love racing with Carl Edwards and [crew chief] Bob Osborne. They're gentleman racers and they wanted it really badly.''

Still, Johnson had the strongest car all day and twice regained the lead with quick pit stops. Though Edwards' final-lap charge surprised Johnson, the pole-sitter had enough time to react to the pass.

"I saw the slide job coming and dodged it and won the race," said Johnson, who won his fifth Cup race of the season and the 38th of his career. "I thought I was sitting in good shape with a nice lead with two to go, and all of sudden the 99 was all over me."

Asked about being in the points lead, Knaus said, "Doesn't mean anything right now. All we have to do is win races and finish in the top five, and the rest of it will take care of itself.''

Johnson has three wins and five top-five finishes in his past five starts.

What was an excellent day for the Hendrick and Roush cars -- and a solid performance for the Richard Childress Racing entries of Harvick, Burton and Clint Bowyer (12th on Sunday despite two penalties) -- was a nightmare for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Though Denny Hamlin ran 12th, Kyle Busch, the top seed entering the Chase, suffered his third hard-luck race in a row (watch video) and finished 28th. He remained 12th in the standings but is now 311 points behind Johnson and out of the title picture.

Tony Stewart's day was even worse. A slide across the grass in the tri-oval followed repeated trouble in the pits (watch video), and Stewart came home 40th. That leaves the three Gibbs drivers in the final three positions in the Chase. Only a major shakeup next Sunday at Talladega could help Hamlin or Stewart climb back into contention.

Notes: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 13th-place run left him eighth in the standings, 190 points out of first place. ... Gordon climbed two spots to sixth in points, 143 behind Johnson. ... Kenseth had one of the fastest cars, but a missing lug nut on an early stop forced the No. 17 Ford back to the pits and cost him track position. He also survived a spin after getting a tap from behind from Casey Mears (watch video). Kenseth led the second-most laps, 49 to Johnson's 124.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.