Matt Kenseth pulled away on a restart with 12 laps remaining to win Saturday night's Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Kenseth moves from fifth to third in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, only seven points behind leader Carl Edwards.  Kenseth's 21st career win catapulted him to third in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

"It always feels good to win, winning is what it's all about," said Kenseth in Victory Lane.

Polesitter Tony Stewart dominated the first half and was leading at the mid-way point with Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle and Kenseth each taking turns at the front in the second half. 

Kyle Busch, who started last in the 43-car field, led a race high 111 laps and finished second.  Carl Edwards padded his point lead by finishing third while non-Chase drivers Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose completed the top five. 

Kevin Harvick, A J Allmendinger, Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10.

Jimmie Johnson suffered a setback in his quest for a sixth consecutive title when he slammed the wall while running seventh with seventeen laps to go.  Johnson exited the race with major damage to his #48 Chevrolet and was credited with 34th on the final rundown, dropping him to eighth in the Chase.

Edwards now leads Harvick by five points in the 2011 Chase standings.

MORE NASCAR NEWS