Jimmie Johnson got back to his winning ways at Charlotte Motor Speedway while a handful of NASCAR Chase Grid drivers found trouble in the Bank of America 500.

For the second year in a row, the first race of the Round of 12 had to be moved from a Saturday night (10/8) race to a Sunday afternoon (10/9) race due to rain. This year it was Hurricane Mathew that provided the precipitation that caused the postponed race.

When the green flag dropped Sunday the track was also pretty much green with the rain washing most of the rubber off the surface. That meant not only did the teams have to adjust their cars and strategies from a night race to a day race, but also adjust through the race to a changing track.

A handful of drivers still in The Chase dealt with mechanical issues, penalties on pit row and being in the wrong place at the wrong time to be collected in a multi-car accident.

Jimmie Johnson managed to avoid those pitfalls to lead a race-high 155 laps in the 334 lap event. He avoided the accidents and incidents that brought the yellow flag out eight times. He held the lead in the final 18-lap green flag run to the finish to extend his all-time most Sprint Cup Charlotte win total to eight. The win also gives him an automatic advance to the Round of Eight on the Chase Grid. This is the first time since the new Chase format has begun that Jimmie has made it beyond the Round of 12.

Chase contender Matt Kenseth finished the race in second place with three non-Chase drivers finishing in third through fifth place (respectively), Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson. See the complete race results for the 2016 Bank of America 500 here.

The win catapults Jimmie Johnson up 10 spots to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings. Matt Kenseth’s second place finish moves him up two spots to second in the points. Kyle Busch holds steady in third place with Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch both moving up three places to fourth and fifth respectively. See the complete NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings here.

It was Austin Dillon, Chase Elliot, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick suffering the most on the Chase Grid following the gaggle of issues during the race at Charlotte. All four drivers have fallen below the cut line for this round in The Chase with just two races to move above it if they hope to advance to the Round of Eight. See the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Grid here.

With the potential for disaster at Talladega as the elimination race in this round of The Chase, the Chase Grid drivers that are below or just above the cut line will be putting extra emphasis on this week’s race at Kansas Speedway. We will see which drivers can rebound and which driver (if any) can secure an automatic advance in the Hollywood Casino 400 Sunday afternoon October 16th.

By: Buck Stevens