JOLIET, Ill. -- A late caution with two laps remaining in Saturday night's Sprint Cup event erased the lead that Jimmie Johnson held at Chicagoland Speedway, setting up a green-white-checkered finish with Johnson and Kyle Busch battling for the victory.
Johnson was able maintain the lead briefly on the restart, but Busch quickly battled back, making an outside pass on the Lowe's Impala SS. He grabbed the lead in turns 3 and 4 and held on for the win.
Busch led Johnson to the line by .159 seconds, collecting his seventh victory of the season.
Johnson started the race fifth after the field was set by owner points because qualifying was rained out on Thursday.
He fought a tight race car early, but crew chief Chad Knaus and the Team Lowe's Racing crew made several changes on pit road to get the machine dialed in.
By late in the race, Johnson was recording the fastest lap times on the track. Johnson restarted third following a debris caution on lap 227. By the next restart, lap 241, he was sitting in second place and tracking down race leader Busch. On lap 251, Johnson took the lead for the first time and began pulling away from the field.
Johnson led 15 laps before Busch made the winning pass on the final restart. That moved Johnson into a tie with Busch for most races led in 2008 (14).
"Not bad until the last lap," said Johnson in his post-race press conference. "It was a good performance for the team.
"We've been working very hard to be back in race-winning form, and I think the last two or three weeks, maybe even the last four weeks, we've been there.
"I'm very proud of the effort. We had a great car there at the end, passed the 18, got going, and the last restart should have given him the inside.
"There's no way I thought with how good my car was that I couldn't have gotten away from him through one and two, and somehow he got to be outside. And as soon as he broke the plane in my bumper, I knew I was in trouble, and sure enough, I was."
Johnson's runner-up finish allowed him to maintain fifth place in the Sprint Cup Series driver point standings.
Following Busch and Johnson to the line were Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart.
Johnson's teammates, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears, finished 11th, 16th and 33rd, respectively.
Busch continues to lead the championship point standings, followed by Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Johnson.
The series will enjoy its last off weekend of the season before traveling to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the July 27 event. That race will be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
TOP 10 FINISHERS AT CHICAGOLAND
1. Kyle Busch
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Greg Biffle
5. Tony Stewart
6. Brian Vickers
7. Matt Kenseth
8. David Ragan
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Ryan Newman
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS' FINISHING POSITIONS
2. Jimmie Johnson
11. Jeff Gordon
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
33. Casey Mears
TOP 12 IN POINTS AFTER CHICAGOLAND
1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -262
3. Jeff Burton -291
4. Carl Edwards -372
5. Jimmie Johnson -387
6. Jeff Gordon -497
7. Greg Biffle -563
8. Matt Kenseth -564
9. Kevin Harvick -573
10. Tony Stewart -576
11. Kasey Kahne -586
12. Denny Hamlin -598
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS DRIVERS' POINTS POSITIONS
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -262
5. Jimmie Johnson -387
6. Jeff Gordon -497
24. Casey Mears -1099
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
(All times Eastern)
Friday, July 25
Sprint Cup practice, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Sprint Cup practice, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday, July 26
Sprint Cup qualifying, 10 a.m., ESPN2
Sprint Cup happy hour, 2 p.m., ESPN2
Sunday, June 27
Sprint Cup pre-race, 1 p.m., ESPN
