No one knows how to play the Chase better than five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. He is able to perfectly position himself over the weeks and months of NASCAR's gruelling, seemingly never-ending 36-race season so that when the right moment comes he is just where he needs to be in order to have the ideal chance to clinch the title.

The plan might have unravelled last year, but there's a calm precision to his 2012 campaign that meant it was no surprise that he comes out of Martinsville with a win - and the lead in the Chase standings. Brad Keselowski might be only two points behind, but dealing with a racer of Johnson's calibre can make that gap seem like the Grand Canyon.

"I'm ecstatic about the win today and ecstatic about the point lead," said Johnson after the race. "We just had a great race car.

"But this is no cake-walk," he added about the work left to do in the remaining races of the season. "These guys are bringing their best each and every week and we've got to keep working hard to keep this Lowe's Chevy up front; and we're in good shape."

The race had started in bright sunshine but with the skies overhead already showing the first hints of the approach of Hurricane Sandy up the eastern coast of the US. Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers had led the field to the green flag for the start of the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway shortly before 2pm on Sunday afternoon.

Johnson immediately settled into the lead, while behind Vickers Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton were disputing third place and Denny Hamlin was trying to keep fifth from Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon. Considering that there were 500 laps of the race to go, it was already feeling positively feisty on the claustrophobic half-mile short oval.

By the time that the first caution came out on on lap 46 for a crash by David Stremme in turns 1 and 2, Jeff Gordon had worked his way up into second place behind his Hendrick Motorsports team mate Jimmie Johnson. The two had been bearing down on Johnson's main rival for the Sprint Cup championship, Brad Keselowski, who was relieved to see the yellows come out before he could be put a lap down. It was going to be a long day of damage limitation for the #2 by the looks of it.

Keselowski used the caution to put position first, gaining ten spots and climbing to 17th for the restart by taking only two tyres. Johnson and Gordon led at the restart, but it was a disaster for Denny Hamlin who got slammed with a speeding penalty and duly took the restart from the back of the lead lap - in 31st - rather than contending for the lead. Fortunately he had the time and the car to recover form the setback, and by the time the next caution came out he had already rised back into the top 20.

The new caution on lap 97 was for a crash by David Gilliland, who found the wall in turns 3 and 4. That was shortly after Gordon had wrested the lead from his team mate, and although Johnson took the top spot back in the ensuing pit stops it was no time before Gordon popped back to the front for a second time after the restart. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin's rehabilitation was nearly complete as be moved back into the top ten on lap 112.

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