The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

KANSAS CITY, KAN. (AP) -- Greg Biffle has kept his championship hopes alive by winning Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup championship tightened up considerably at Kansas, where the top seven finishers were title
contenders and four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson took over the points lead.

Biffle beat Johnson by almost eight seconds to grab his second win of the season, and cut a considerable chunk out of his deficit in the Chase standings. He began the race 140 points behind Denny Hamlin and leaves Kansas trailing Johnson by only 85 points.

Johnson leaves Kansas with an eight-point lead over Hamlin, and nine drivers are separated by just 101 points.

Carl Edwards finished sixth.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)