1 Jimmie Johnson 5878pts, 2 Jeff Burton 5809pts, 3 Greg Biffle 5792pts, 4 Carl Edwards 5710pts, 5 Clint Bowyer 5693pts, 6 Kevin Harvick 5671pts, 7 Tony Stewart 5650pts, 8 Jeff Gordon 5633pts, 9 Kyle Busch 5552pts, 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr 5524pts, 11 Matt Kenseth 5518pts, 12 Denny Hamlin 5498pts

Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet wheelman Jeff Burton won Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, holding back the aggressive late race advances of Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne. Third in a Penske Racing Dodge was Kurt Busch and fourth overall, his younger brother and Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Kyle Busch. In the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, points leader Jimmie Johnson saw his car go away from him in the closing laps, dropping from second to sixth. Nonetheless, Johnson still enjoys a healthy 69-point lead over Jeff Burton in The Chase with only five races remaining. Round six of the The Chase — the TUMS QuikPak 400 — will take place next Sunday afternoon the storied .526-mile short track known as Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Johnson, who started the 500-mile race from the pole position, led the first 31 laps of what would be a 334-laps on the 1.5-mile oval before Tony Stewart and Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota flashed by and into the lead. A defining moment of the race came on lap 71 when Chase contender Carl Edwards was sent to the pits with major electrical problems.

By lap number 100, Stewart showed everyone the way around the high-speed Charlotte circuit, his lead gap over Johnson up to 6.013 seconds. On lap number 109, Kyle Busch assumed the lead, holding it until lap 133 when Johnson motored his way back into first. On lap number 167 — the halfway point of the race — Red Bull driver Brian Vickers led Johnson by 8.171 seconds over Johnson, as Biffle, Kyle Busch, David Ragan, Stewart, Burton, Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann and Kurt Busch gave chase.

On lap number 212, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver Gordon was up into the lead with Mark Martin, Truex, Biffle and Burton hounding him. Then, on lap 251, Greg Biffle passed Gordon.

As the race approached its conclusion, on Lap 298, Juan Pablo Montoya blew a right-front tire, NASCAR threw a yellow flag thus immediately sending the leaders into the pits. During the stop, Burton took on only gasoline and led Johnson, Kahne, Kurt Busch, Biffle, McMurray, Gordon and Bowyer back out onto the track. The final green flag restart came on Lap 301 with Johnson immediately setting off after Burton who managed to hold him off. The two drivers battled fiercely while Kurt Busch and Kahne starting pressuring Johnson for second place. After trying everything in the book to zap Burton, Johnson couldn't make it happen and dropped down the leader board. Burton raced on to win with Kahne second, Kurt Busch third and Kyle Busch fourth.

Pos  Driver                Points
1   Jimmie Johnson   5878
2   Jeff Burton             5809
3   Greg Biffle              5792
4   Carl Edwards          5710
5   Clint Bowyer           5693
6   Kevin Harvick          5671
7   Tony Stewart          5650
8   Jeff Gordon           5633
9   Kyle Busch            5552
10  Dale Earnhardt Jr   5524
11  Matt Kenseth          5518
12  Denny Hamlin        5498