Chalk up the first win of the Chase for Brad Keselowski and Roger Penske's No. 2 MIller Lite-sponsored team.
Keselowski took the lead from a dominant Jimmie Johnson leaving pit road on his last stop and pulled away to win the Geico 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway. It is Keselowski's fourth win of 2012, his eighth Sprint Cup win, and his first as a Chase driver. In addition, Keselowski now holds a three point edge on Johnson for the championship.
Johnson finished second after leading 171 laps. Once again he's been denied a victory at Chicago, one of five tracks he has yet to win on, but he still is positioned well to make a run at his sixth crown.
Kasey Kahne had a quiet but strong day in finishing third. Kyle Busch finished fourth and Ryan Newman was fifth, the duo leading the way among non-Chase drivers.
Defending series champ Tony Stewart came home sixth, Joey Logano was seventh, and Chasers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-10. Kevin Harvick finished 12th and Greg Biffle was 13th. Denny Hamlin ran out of gas on the last lap and wound up 16th.
Matt Kenseth rebounded from a broken shock to finish 18th. The Chase dog of the day was Jeff Gordon, who's throttle stuck on lap 189 and sent him slamming into the turn one wall. He briefly returned to the track with nine laps to go before returning to the garage in 35th place.