Though his teammate Jeff Gordon held on to the lead in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, Jimmie Johnson was the driver doing the celebratory burnout at the conclusion of the Subway 500 at Martinsville on Sunday afternoon. Johnson's win was his seventh of 2007 and gave him a sweep for the year at the Virginia track.

In a finish reminiscent of the spring race at NASCAR's shortest track - 0.526 mile - Johnson held off challenges from second-place Ryan Newman and third-place Gordon, who finished second in April, in the final laps of the race to win.

A trio of Chasers finished in the fourth, fifth, and sixth spots in Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Denny Hamlin. Greg Biffle and Juan Montoya followed in seventh and eighth, respectively.

Richard Childress Racing took three of the next four spots, with Clint Bowyer ninth, Kevin Harvick 10th, and Jeff Burton 12th. Harvick and Burton sandwiched fellow Chase competitor Carl Edwards, who finished 11th.

Tony Stewart finished 13th, Martin Truex Jr. was 19th, and Kurt Busch ended in 31st place.

Johnson's win narrowed his gap to Gordon from 68 to 53 points. Clint Bowyer's gap in third place rose from 78 to 115.

Here are the standings of the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup with four races remaining in the 2007 season, one of which will be the November 11 Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil at Phoenix International Raceway:

Point Standings (through 32 of 36 races)

The next action in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup will take place at Atlanta on Sunday, October 28. The race telecast begins at 10 a.m. (Mountain Standard Time/Phoenix time) on ABC.

With just three weeks remaining until the green flag, get your NASCAR tickets for the Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil at PIR today! Call 1-866-408-RACE (7223) or visit www.racetickets.com!