Concord, NC – Matt Kenseth gave his Sprint Cup Series title straight championship took a big hit after wrecking late in the race and finishing 34th at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, passed Kyle Busch for the lead shortly before Johnson slammed head on into the outside wall with 18 laps remaining. When the race resumed with 12 laps to go, Kenseth pulled away from Busch and then beat him to the finish line by one second for his third win of the season and the 21st of his career.
Carl Edwards finished third and increased his points lead to five over Kevin Harvick, who took the sixth spot.
Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top-five.
With the win, Kenseth moved to within seven points of his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Edwards. Busch is 18 points out of the lead.
Johnson is now 35 points behind Edwards, as five races remain in the Chase. The series heads to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.