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Jimmie Johnson takes Sprint Cup points lead with dominating victory at Texas, Kenseth 4th

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Jimmie Johnson (48) takes turn four during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Larry Papke) (The Associated Press)

Matt Kenseth (20) locks up his brakes as he enters pit row during the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Larry Papke) (The Associated Press)

Jimmie Johnson led 255 of 334 laps for a dominating victory Sunday that put the five-time champion back in the Chase for the Sprint Cup lead with two races left in the season.

Matt Kenseth and Johnson arrived at Texas Motor Speedway tied in points, though Kenseth was the leader based on his seven wins.

Johnson got his sixth victory this season, becoming only the second three-time Cup winner at Texas. The No. 48 Hendrick team takes a seven-point lead to Phoenix next week.

Kenseth was running second behind Johnson for much of the first half of the race before getting penalized for speeding. That dropped him to 16th place and more than 28 seconds back, though he recovered to finish fourth.

Johnson finished more than 4 seconds ahead of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had his fifth runner-up finish this season.