MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- There was a time this summer when a seventh championship seemed out of reach for Jimmie Johnson.Hendrick Motorsports was struggling and Johnson wasnt at the top of many lists to contend for the title.Then the Hendrick organization flipped a switch, built better, faster cars, and Johnson turned it up a notch. Now, that slot in NASCARs record bks is absolutely within reach.Johnson earned one of four spots in next months title-deciding season finale Sunday with his ninth career victory at Martinsville Speedway . The six-time NASCAR champion will race for his seventh championship, which would tie him for the record with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.Ive been trying to ignore this conversation about seven, and now I cant, said Johnson, who doesnt particularly want to start thinking about the stakes just yet.Ill probably lie to all of you guys and say Im not going to think about it at all. But its inevitable. Fortunately, I dont have to think about it for three weeks. But were going to enjoy this and savor it. Were going to get our ducks in a row for Homestead.The victory blocked Joe Gibbs Racing from placing all four of Toyota drivers in the final round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup title . There are only three spots still open in the Nov. 20 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and JGRs hope of sweeping the final four ended Sunday.Most likely to miss the final? Carl Edwards, who had a tire problem and finished 36th at Martinsville -- lowest of the eight Chase drivers. Also in trouble: Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, who finished 20th and 22nd.Brad Keselowski, eliminated from the Chase last week , finished second and was irritated by a lengthy caution earlier in the race when NASCAR struggled to figure out the running order. Had those laps not been wasted under yellow, Keselowski absolutely believed he could have beat Johnson.We dont need to run 100 laps under yellow with the field, not trying to figure out where theyre at, and it probably cost us the race, Keselowski said.The caution tk 29 laps, and left some grumbling the order still wasnt correct when the race restarted.I think the stakes are so high, I really wish we would have red flagged the race, gone, reviewed it and gotten it right, said third-place finisher Denny Hamlin. Theres a 100 percent chance it was not right at the end. It changed the running order.Hopefully, that doesnt change what happens going into Homestead. I know that NASCAR is doing everything they can with the scoring they have and things like that. But you have to get it right. It definitely was not right.JGR finished third, fourth and fifth as Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch are inside the top-four as the series heads to Texas Motor Speedway. But all was not well in the Gibbs camp after the race.Busch felt Hamlin -- finished the highest by holding up Kenseth and Busch in the waning laps. Although the teammates worked well together on restarts, Busch felt that Hamlin not getting out of the way allowed Johnson to win and Keselowski to finish second.We work so gd together that we just gave the win to (Johnson). So, JGR all the way, Busch said. At the end, you had the slowest Gibbs car holding up the rest of the line, and all we did was let somebody else from another organization pass us and go up there and chase down (Johnson).Hamlin disputed Buschs view.I may have held those guys up for a little bit of that final run, but definitely dont think I was holding anyone up at the end, for sure, Hamlin said.Jeff Gordon finished sixth in his final scheduled race as the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It is presumably the final race of Gordons career. He retired last season, but was pressed into eight races when Earnhardt suffered a concussion.Martin Truex Jr. finished seventh and was followed by Jamie McMurray and Joey Logano, winner last week at Talladega but now the first driver below the cutline in the Chase.It was an unusually fast race for Martinsville standards, and the five cautions were the fewest since April of 1989.SCARY SCENE: A vehicle struck at least 10 pedestrians in a parking lot outside the speedway after the race.A track official said there were no life-threatening injuries, although some pedestrians had been transported to Memorial Hospital in Martinsville, Virginia.One person was taken into custody after the incident.JOHNSON VS. HAMLIN: There was mid-race aggression between Johnson and Hamlin , as Hamlin moved Johnson out of his way for a pass for position.He thinks hes a (expletive) king, doesnt do anything wrong, Hamlin radioed.Johnson didnt understand Hamlins lack of patience, and Hamlin said it stems from incidents in the first two rounds of the Chase.DEHYDRATED DRIVERS: It was the warmest fall race at Martinsville since 1999 and temperatures in the mid-80s caused overheating for at least two drivers.AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell had to be treated for dehydration after the race, and both were released from the care center.Michael Annett also was treated after the race, but NASCAR did not disclose his symptoms.UP NEXT: A Sunday stop at Texas Motor Speedway, where Johnson has won the last four November races.Vente Yeezy 350 Pas Cher . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Yeezy Bst 350 a Vendre .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. http://www.pascheryeezy350.fr/ . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rkie outfielder in the starting lineup. Chaussure Yeezy 350 Pas Cher . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - gd for ninth in the Western Conference. Yeezy Bst 350 Pas Cher .ca lk back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we lk back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy.Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has claimed he is risking permanent hearing loss in his left ear by continuing to compete.The 29-year-old revealed the whiplash injury he suffered in his last competition -- the Birmingham Diamond League a month ago -- had caused a severe inner ear condition.And he admitted that if it was not an Olympic year, with the chance in Rio to defend the title he won at London 2012, he would likely be taking time away from the sport to get the problem fixed.Rutherford said there was a one in four chance that the problem, called cochlea hydrops, would become a life-long affliction.The Milton Keynes athlete, who also revealed he had been hospitalised with appendicitis back in April, accepted he did not know how the ear problem would affect his jumping ahead of his comeback at the European Championships in Amsterdam on Wednesday.I knew I shouldnt have jumped in Birmingham because I felt really stiff, Rutherford said.If the rm falls silent for a moment all I hear is loud white noise, so its been a struggle to sleep. Ive gone from hearing in stereo to mono.Its odd because during your career you work to put yourself in peak physical condition, but then you bear the brunt of it for the rest of your life, but Ill just have to take that risk.I dont think there are many long jumpers who can say they have jumped so hard that have lost their hearing, so Ive broken new grounnd there.ddddddddddddHopefully it will come back, but theres a one in four chance it never will fully recover, according to the doctor. Its quite scary to hear that, because you always get told theres a one in 20,000 chance or a one in a million chance.I hope it wont affect my jumping, but its certainly not fun. It does bring you down. If it wasnt Olympic year I would quite possibly be taking some time out to get it sorted. But I like winning medals.It has certainly been a turbulent year for Rutherford, who explained how he has also had to recover from appendicitis.I woke up with chronic pain in my stomach and that then progressed, he said.It was probably the worst pain I have ever had in my life. It was two weeks before I jumped 8.30 metres in Long Beach [on April 16], so it doesnt seem to have affected me t much.I went to the hospital and before anyone had even examined me five different people had asked for money. They were quoting 20,000 US dollars to stay overnight, but Im not sure if that was even necessary so I just had antibiotics. Luckily it went away and theres nothing to suggest it will be a recurring problem.Rutherford, whose nine-competition winning streak was ended last time out in Birmingham, will be hoping for less drama when he returns to the runway. ' ' '