Johnson piloted his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish, and now trails Kenseth by three points after the series’ fourth Chase race.

"We were really far off," Kenseth said of the condition of his team’s car when the 267-lap race got underway. "I kind of got lost and sped on pit road which actually ended up being a stroke of good luck in a way. Because we knew we could come in, really make the adjustments that (crew chief Jason Ratcliff) wanted to, that were going to take 30 or 40 seconds. We wouldn’t have done it unless that (had) happened.

"Really once that happened he made the car better; we had a good strategy call, we just got caught under the green flag pit stop and had (to take) the wave around."

The speeding penalty occurred during a round of pit stops following a crash involving Justin Allgaier and Ryan Newman on Lap 136. Fourth when he hit pit road, the penalty dropped Kenseth back to 30^th.

He was running 16^th later in the race when he pitted (on Lap 220), only to see the yellow appear again less than 10 laps later for debris. Once again, he found himself restarting the race from near the back, after taking the wave around to remain on the lead lap.

Slowly, his car came to life, and with little more than 40 laps remaining, he began working his way back through the field. He was inside the top 20 by Lap 240 and just outside the top 10 with a dozen laps remaining.

"That was by far the best we were," he said of his late charge. "As you get closer to the front it gets tougher, but we passed a lot of cars and climbed back in it.

"I feel lucky for not being wrecked and I feel fortunate to still be leading the points. It was not the day we wanted. The last two weeks we’ve struggled a little bit and … (it) could have been worse. I’m proud of this team, they didn’t give up on me today."

Ratcliff, who has helped guide Kenseth to a series-leading seven wins this year, said it wasn’t necessarily the changes his team made to the car.

"I think he just got used to it maybe," a relieved Ratcliff said.

"That’s the problem with this kind of tire, which they have to bring to these repaves because they’re so fast, so abusive. But the tire is so hard you need a really major setup change to really move the needle …just way more than you can typically do on pit road.

"Once we got behind there, we were going to have to start at the back … we took a big swing at it. Probably made it better there at the end. He was able to at least pass cars, which we hadn’t been able to do all day … I just wish we had restarted in the top 10 there at the end, and maybe had a shot at a top-five."

Ratcliff said struggles are to be expected in the Chase.

"I’m glad it’s over," he said. "I’m glad to come out of here with an 11^th place finish. And the points lead. It was a struggle."

It was Kenseth’s first finish outside the top 10 in the Chase.

Johnson lost power briefly on the white-flag lap but managed to recover for the sixth-place finish.

"It started losing power and shaking real bad," he said. "All in all, it was just a crazy day. It started shaking real bad and I thought it was over. But I limped it around and got it to the finish line.

"It’s gratifying for sure (to gain points), and it’s nice to beat the 20 (of Kenseth). The 18 (of Kyle Busch) had a tough day. Got a couple on the 20, so that’s good; all in all, a good day."

Busch, third in points and only 12 out of the lead entering the race, was involved in a pair of crashes and wound up 34^th in the 43-car field. The trouble dropped him to fifth in the points battle, and he now trails Kenseth by 35 points.

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Points leader Matt Kenseth also spun Saturday, but avoided harm to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson lost the handle a day earlier, but likewise escaped unscathed and his No. 48 Chevrolet intact.
 
Further fueling the fire was Saturday’s incident in the final laps of the Nationwide Series race, in which contact from Kyle Busch sent Keselowski backing hard into the wall as the pair battled for second place.
 
Words, not actions, followed, with Keselowski all but promising retribution.
 
"I feel bad for the guys … that are going to have to fix his (stuff)," Keselowski said. "That is going to be part of racing and they are going to have to deal with it."
 
Those unseasonably warm temperatures that greeted teams Thursday (for an open test) and Friday have departed, with today’s high not expected to climb out of the low 60s.
 
"We don’t really know," pole winner Kevin Harvick said Friday when asked how the weather might impact today’s race. "Because this is a new generation tire for us and has … thrown us all … a little bit of a curveball as to what we need in the car and what we’re feeling and how we’re feeling it."
 
Practice, he said, might provide a better idea of what to expect.
 
If that’s the case, then hang on. Practice produced the spins by the Busch brothers and Kenseth. Along with a mixed bag of results that saw Roush Fenway Racing drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carl Edwards pace the day’s two sessions.
 
"Our car is not very good," Kyle Busch said moments after finishing fourth in the Kansas Lottery 300. "I’m not very good here and I don’t know why I can be in Nationwide — I had a great car today … but my Cup car has never had that feeling here at Kansas."
 
Kenseth, who would have vetoed the tire change had the decision been left up to him, said the new zone tread tire provided by Goodyear "has a lot less grip."
 
"That right-side tire is going to make it very, very interesting," he said.
 
Saturday’s Nationwide race was slowed by 11 cautions, with nearly half caused by single-car spins. Kenseth, who leads Johnson by eight points and Kyle Busch by 12, said he expects similar incidents to unfold in the Cup race.
 
"I would be surprised if you didn’t see some basically single-car spins and maybe collect some other people," he said. "I think it’s going to be fairly treacherous. But the Cup race is always a little bit different. I think passing will be easier … because we have so much more power. I think you’ll be able to get a run and be able to pass a little bit better."
 
Goodyear officials say today’s cooler temperatures won’t affect the performance of the new tires. NASCAR officials describe it as a "learning curve" for drivers and teams.
 
"In the spring, we ran here in the mid-60s," Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear, said. "And we’ll be close to that it sounds like on Sunday, maybe a few degrees cooler.
 
"And you have to remember … two-thirds of the tire is the same compound on the right side that we raced here in the spring. Of course we’ve got a more tractive left side. If anything, it should be a little bit more grip. Speeds will be up, just because of the cool temperatures."
 
The proliferation of spins, Busch said, isn’t a result of the tire but a result of new pavement that was put into place last year.
 
"It’s not the tires’ fault," he said. "… It’s frustrating because we know what kind of race this place put on before they repaved it. It was a great race track. (The groove) went from the bottom all the way to the wall and you could run anywhere you wanted to.
 
"For some reason somebody thought it was a great idea to repave it and cause single-lane racing and it sucks."

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