Tony Stewart snatched victory from Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville to boost his standing in the 2011 Chase and the Castrol EDGE Rankings.
The Stewart-Haas racer passed Johnson on the penultimate lap following the 18th and final caution of a hectic race, before taking the chequered flag by just 0.170s to earn his third victory of the year.
That boosted him to second in the Chase standings, just eight points off leader Carl Edwards, and also elevated him two spots to 21st in the Rankings ? his highest place since May.
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Johnson was left to rue the cost of the final caution period which saw a useful lead eroded, but he nevertheless finished second to give his own Chase hopes a boost.
The five-time champion moved up one place to sixth in the Chase, although he still trails leader Edwards by 43 points.
In the Rankings he remains 13th, and third of the Sprint Cup drivers, although he did close in on Kyle Busch who could only finish 27th after clashing with Matt Kenseth.
Chase leader Carl Edwards meanwhile made further progress up the Rankings, moving up one place to eighth overall.
The Roush Fenway man had qualified on pole but then struggled in the race, and was relieved to come through to ninth as late cautions and accidents aided his progress up the order.
AJ Allmendinger meanwhile was one of the biggest gainers from Martinsville, as an 11th-place finish was enough to see him rise nine places to 44th, only three spots off his all-time best.
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At the other end of the scale ex-F1 pilot Juan Pablo Montoya was one of the big losers in the Rankings after finishing down in 22nd, three laps down.
The Columbian?s loss in the Rankings was exaggerated as he had to drop a pole position and podium finish from Talladega last year under the rollover system, and he duly tumbled 11 spots to 55th, his worst Rankings since the middle of 2009.
The Castrol EDGE Rankings is based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the Castrol Rankings scores are calculated, Click Here.
