Jimmie Johnson wins at Charlotte and secures the place in Round of 8

Jimmie Johnson wins Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, securing the place in the Round of 8 of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led for 155 of 334 laps at the 1.5-mile track to score his 78th Cup victory in a career and eighth win at Charlotte. Johnson becomes the first driver who advances to Top 8, which is first time for him to do so since the elimination format of the Chase was launched in 2014.

Johnson’s #48 Chevrolet crossed the finish line ahead of #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Matt Kenseth. Kasey Kahne finished third, with Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. Of the top five, only Johnson and Kenseth are in the Chase. The other Chase drivers in the Top 10 are Kyle Busch (P6), Brad Keselowski (P7) and Kurt Busch (P8).

The race was red-flagged after the Big One on Lap 258

Carl Edwards finished 12th, ahead of Martin Truex Jr, who dropped to 13th after his car stalled leaving the pit road during the final stop on Lap 311. Denny Hamlin was running in second and had led 52 laps before his engine expired on Lap 307. He was classified in 30th place. Polesitter Kevin Harvick had an electrical issue in a mid-race and finished 38th. Joey Logano also had problems, smacking the wall twice. He finished 36th. The race was red flagged after a big wreck on a Lap 258, involving Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott and several others.

Sunday’s race was initially scheduled for Saturday night but rain led to the race being moved to Sunday as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, which was postponed from Friday night to Sunday. The Round of 12 will continue next Sunday at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400.

Check the full results of Bank of America 500 race

Photos: nascar.com