Kevin Harvick held off a last-lap charge by Carl Edwards to capture his fourth win of the season in Saturday night's Wonderful Pistachios 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.

With the win Harvick enters the Chase tied with top seeded Kyle Busch.

"This is awesome," said Harvick. "I've got some momentum now."

Edwards, who starts fifth in the Chase, had a fast car but came up 0.139 seconds short at the finish line and had to settle for second.

"I needed one more lap," said Edwards. "He (Harvick) was faster than I thought."

Jeff Gordon finished third followed by David Ragan and Kurt Busch.

The much anticipated Chase cutoff event was filled with drama from the start that resulted in 15 caution flags. Several drivers planning to race their way into the 10 week run for the championship found trouble early on.

Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin were involved in a multi-car crash on lap eight of the 400-lap race. Despite the setback Earnhardt, Jr. and Hamlin are in the 2011 Chase while Bowyer will have to wait until next year.

The Jimmie Johnson-Kurt Busch feud continued with the two rivals making contact twice. Kurt Busch nudged the No. 48 into the wall before Johnson retaliated by spinning Busch and himself in the process. Johnson had to make a trip to the garage for repairs while Busch went on to finish fifth.

"He has to learn to race," said Kurt Busch. "I am going to beat him fair and square."

"It is what it is," said Johnson after posting a 31st-place finish.

The NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup begins next week in Chicago with the following drivers now locked in.

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Carl Edwards
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Kurt Busch
8. Ryan Newman
9. Tony Stewart
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
WC1 Brad Keselowski
WC2 Denny Hamlin

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