Jimmie Johnson is a proud Californian but, after three straight days of unusually oppressive heat, the reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion sped from the state as fast as he could.
The El Cajon native powered his No. 48 Chevrolet to the front and then held off Carl Edwards to win the caution-plagued Sharp Aquos 500 on Sunday at his hometown track of California Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., meanwhile, finished fifth to keep his Chase hopes alive, but just barely.
It was Johnson's series-high fifth win of the season and his second at the sweeping two-mile oval in Fontana. Johnson won here in 2002 for his first Cup victory.
"We had our stuff right at the end when it mattered," said Johnson, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports.
The win also gives Johnson -- who's sixth in points -- a leg up in the Chase for the Cup, the series' 10-race playoff among the top 12 drivers in points.
The field will be set after next weekend's race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Johnson already is locked into the Chase.
The dozen drivers start the Chase with their points reset to 5,000, but they also get 10 bonus points for each victory. So Johnson, 31, would start with at least 5,050 and would be the top-seeded driver in the Chase.
Earnhardt, stock-car racing's most popular driver, left Fontana 13th in points just as he arrived. He closed the gap on the 12th spot -- now held by Kevin Harvick, who finished 14th Sunday -- to 128 points after coming into the race 158 points behind 12th place.
But Harvick can clinch the final Chase berth by finishing 32nd or better at Richmond, regardless of how Earnhardt finishes that race.
"It doesn't look like we're going to make it, but we ain't gonna quit trying until they say we aren't in the Chase," Earnhardt said. "We just need to win some races."
Only two Chase spots are effectively still up for grabs. Eight already have locked in spots: Jeff Gordon (Johnson's teammate and the points leader), Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Johnson, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch.
And Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr., currently ninth and 10th in points, need only to start at Richmond to clinch their spots in the playoff.
Sunday's race started in the late-afternoon amid yet another day of triple-digit temperatures in Southern California. It ended under the lights but it was still 93 degrees when Johnson took the checkered flag.
