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By JENNA FRYER

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson has momentum on his side and history in sight.

Nevermind that Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards dominated the regular season, the Chase is Johnson's time of the year and the two-time defending NASCAR champion isn't turning his title over without a fight.

He won Sunday at Richmond International Raceway to grab his second consecutive win, fourth overall this season, to take a big boost into the Chase for the championship. Johnson is trying to become the first driver to win three straight titles since Cale Yarborough (1976-78).

"I do think about it," admitted Johnson, "but the less I think about it, the better I'm going to be. The less I can think about all this stuff the last 10 races, the better I am going to be. I just need to fall back to the confidence I have in my race team and my abilities.

"If you show up and you're swinging for the fences every time, you're going to make mistakes."

Johnson wins 2nd straight to charge into Chase....

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Lewis Hamilton has won the Belgian Grand Prix in a rain-splashed finish to extend his lead in the championship standings.

Hamilton again proved he was the top wet-weather driver, keeping his cool in the last few laps Sunday when a sudden shower hit the course and race leader Kimi Raikkonen spun off during the penultimate lap. Hamilton beat Ferrari's Felipe Massa by 14.4 seconds. BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was third.

Hamilton leads Massa 80 to 72 going into the last five races.

Lewis Hamilton wins rain-splashed Belgian GP....

RICHMOND, Va. — Darian Grubb never really loved being a crew chief during his two short stints atop the pit box at Hendrick Motorsports.

When the team moved him back to an engineering job this season, he vowed not to run a race team again. But when Tony Stewart offered him the chance to crew chief his new team next year, Grubb had a sudden change of heart. Grubb said Friday the opportunity to move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 was so good, he simply couldn't turn it down.

"To have the chance to build a championship contending team, and go out and fight from the ground up, and build something around with all these people ... it's everything I've looked forward to in my life," Grubb said. "To be with Tony, with his capabilities as a driver and the past championships, the future heading forward is extremely bright."

Tony Stewart hires Darian Grubb as crew chief of new NASCAR team....

By Nancy Knapp Schilke - Motorsport.com

Roger Penske made his decision faster than many expected with several drivers searching for rides in 2009, David Stremme can rest easy as he was named as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racer in the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge. The seat vacated by Ryan Newman when he and the team did not renew his contract and he elected to be the teammate for Tony Stewart's new Cup team.

"We're pleased to have David join Penske Racing as the driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge," said Penske. "His past accomplishments and current experience as our NASCAR test driver, as well as his character and desire for success, make him a good fit into our culture."

Stremme's return to a full-time Cup ride is not totally unexpected, the Indiana native started his career in the Nationwide series in 2003 and over the five years in NASCAR, he has paid his dues all the while learning and retaining his determination to prove he can run up-front with the best. This year, he found a ride with Rusty Wallace Inc. in the Nationwide series. In April of 2008, Stremme was announced as a test driver for the Penske organization in the Cup car.

Penske picks Stremme for 2009 ride....

Former IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti is returning to the circuit.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing on Tuesday announced that Franchitti will replace Dan Wheldon in the No. 10 Target Honda for the upcoming season as a team-mate for Scott Dixon.
Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed.
Franchitti, who left the IndyCar Series after winning the title in 2007 to drive for Ganassi in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series, has over 180 starts under his belt between the CART and IndyCar Series, resulting in 18 wins, 17 poles, 63 top-five and 95 top-10 finishes.

Franchitti headed back to IndyCar Series....

BY MIKE BRUDENELL • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

He blocked, but he didn't receive the mandatory warning he felt he deserved.

He got penalized, which left him bitterly disappointed.

But Brazilian Helio Castroneves departed Belle Isle with hope on Sunday. By finishing second to Englishman Justin Wilson in a controversial Detroit Indy Grand Prix, Castroneves kept his championship chances alive as he and IndyCar Series leader Scott Dixon head to Chicago next Sunday for the last race of the season.

Dixon, who finished fifth Sunday, leads Castroneves by 30 points after the Brazilian shaved the margin by 13 with his runner-up effort -- his eighth second-place finish of the year.

Wilson gets 1st series win; Helio stays in race for title....

Fontana, CA (Sports Network) - Jimmie Johnson won Sunday night's Pepsi 500 with a dominating performance at the Auto Club Speedway. The No.48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver and two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion led 228 of 250 laps.

The victory was Johnson's third of the season and the 36th of his Sprint Cup career.

"It's amazing," Johnson said. "To have the fan base that I do here and the fans that support us, it means the world to me here in my home state. This was an awesome race."

Johnson knew his car was so good throughout the race that he quipped about it afterwards.

"The longest it took me to do anything tonight was to get out of the car, so I apologize for that," Johnson said.

Johnson dominant in California victory....