Related articles:

Burton wins at Lowe's to move up in standings

Other articles by Jenna Fryer:

Johnson wins Cup, talks of another title With win at PIR, Johnson nears Cup royalty Petty's driving career might come to end at Phoenix racetrack Edwards' win narrows gap on Bowyer Johnson wins pole for PIR race Edwards wins, but Johnson moves closer to 3rd Sprint crown Vickers docked points, Hamlin fined $100,000Spice up Chase with new points systemCheckered future for NASCAR as economy downshiftsGordon, Kenseth searching for wins

Education
Assessment Technology, Inc
Social Studies Content Writer General
CORT
WAREHOUSE/DRIVER Construction
Komatsu Equipment Co
Mechanic General
CORT
Warehouse Supervisor Health Care
Rio Salado College
PA's/Online Instructors

CONCORD, N.C. — One by one, the title contenders dropped out Saturday night, giving Jimmie Johnson a clear shot at widening his lead in the Chase for the championship.

Not so fast, thought Jeff Burton, who used three gas-only pit stops to pull off a victory that catapulted him into championship contention.

Burton culminated savvy pit strategy on a final stop, going into the pits with the lead and taking fuel, only to make sure he was still out front on the restart with 34 laps to go at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Johnson staged a brief battle for the lead, but Burton held steady to snap a 25-race winless streak.

The victory, his second of the season, pushed Burton from fourth to second in the standings with five races to go to decide the title. He trails Johnson by 69 points.

"We're halfway. A lot of stuff is going to happen," Burton said. "A lot of people want to give somebody the trophy, but it's way too early."

Kasey Kahne, who swept the May races at Lowe's, was second. Kurt Busch was third.

Kyle Busch, the regular-season points winner, was fourth for his best finish since the Chase began five weeks ago. Jamie McMurray was fifth, and Johnson faded over the final few laps to finish sixth.

Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and David Ragan rounded out the top 10.

The night was a disaster for several Chase contenders, including Carl Edwards, who entered the race second in the standings. He lost power in his Ford early and finished 33rd to likely lose his shot at the title.

It ended a drama-filled week for Edwards, who caused a 12-car accident last Sunday in Talladega, then scuffled with Kevin Harvick in the garage area.

Photographs of the scuffle between Edwards and Harvick show a more physical confrontation than witnesses described, with Edwards at one point grabbing Harvick by the throat.

Edwards is fourth in the standings, 168 behind Johnson.

"It is obviously bad for our prospects for the championship," team owner Jack Roush said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't fare much better, finishing 36th after his tire exploded a lap before he planned to head pit road to have them changed.

● McLaren's Lewis Hamilton tightened his grip on the Formula One title, claiming the pole position for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.

The championship leader and winner at this event last year took his sixth pole of the season with a time of 1 minute 18.404 seconds.