* INDYCAR

Ryan Hunter-Reay put the American flag back atop the IndyCar podium by snatching the championship away from Will Power in the season finale.

Power, denied for a third consecutive year, was in street clothes watching Saturday night's finish on television after crashing out early at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. His exit from the MAVTV 500 meant Hunter-Reay, who entered the race trailing Power by 17 points, had to finish fifth or better to claim his first championship in a major series.

He wound up fourth - becoming the first American since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 to win the title - but it certainly wasn't easy.

Hunter-Reay struggled all week at California, even wrecking in Wednesday's open test session, and was off at the start of the race. But he picked his way through the field and was on the edge of where he needed to finish as the laps wound down.

Still, a flurry of late cautions made for some hair-raising restarts and a late red-flag that drew the ire or team owner Michael Andretti. Hunter-Reay managed to hang on in a race that was won by Ed Carpenter, another American.

"I raced for my life. I cannot believe we are IndyCar champions. I cannot believe this," Hunter-Reay said. "My dream has come true."

Power, an Australian who has finished second in the points three years in a row, visited Hunter-Reay after the finish.

"At the end of the day, Hunter-Reay is a deserving champion, a real fighter," Power said. "I've lost the championship three years in a row. I feel bad for Penske Racing."

Power crashed 55 laps into the race, spinning hard into the outside wall when his car slipped in a seam in the track. It's the third consecutive year Power has gone into the finale with the title on the line and had an incident snatch away his chances.

At Auto Club Speedway

Fontana, Calif.

With order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (5) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 250, Running

2. (9) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 250, Running

3. (15) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 250, Running

4. (22) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 250, Running

5. (17) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 250, Running

6. (18) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 250, Running

7. (21) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 249, Contact

8. (1) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 249, Running

9. (7) Katherine Legge, Dallara-Chevy, 249, Running

10. (23) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 249, Running

11. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 248, Running

12. (12) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 248, Running

13. (19) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 247, Running

14. (24) Wade Cunningham, Dallara-Honda, 246, Running

15. (20) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 246, Running

16. (14) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 244, Running

17. (2) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 244, Running

18. (3) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 240, Contact

19. (8) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 231, Running

20. (16) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 229, Contact

21. (10) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 118, Electrical

22. (6) Rubens Barrichello, Dallara-Chevy, 107, Mechanical

23. (25) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 80, Mechanical

24. (13) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 66, Contact

25. (11) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 65, Mechanical

26. (26) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Lotus, 16, Mechanical

Point Standings: Hunter-Reay 468, Power 465, Dixon 435, Castroneves 431, Pagenaud 387, Briscoe 370, Franchitti 363, Hinchcliffe 358, Kanaan 351, Rahal 333.

* SPRINT CUP

Jimmie Johnson won the pole for the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. - an impressive start for the five-time champion whose streak of Cup titles came to an end last year.

The 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup begins with today's 400-mile race (11 a.m., ESPN). Johnson's run of five straight championships was snapped last season, when Tony Stewart took the title.

GEICO 400 Lineup

After Saturday qualifying; race today

At Chicagoland Speedway

Joliet, Ill.

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 182.865.

2. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 182.636.

3. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 182.334.

4. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 182.07.

5. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 182.045.

6. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 181.971.

7. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 181.953.

8. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 181.928.

9. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 181.855.

10. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 181.629.

11. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 181.616.

12. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 181.525.

13. (2) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 181.507.

14. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 181.354.

15. (55) Mark Martin, Toyota, 181.257.

16. (22) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 181.251.

17. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 181.05.

18. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 180.989.

19. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 180.874.

20. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 180.729.

21. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 180.705.

22. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 180.524.

23. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 180.463.

24. (98) Michael McDowell, Ford, 180.276.

25. (95) Scott Speed, Ford, 180.21.

26. (83) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 180.12.

27. (13) Casey Mears, Ford, 180.048.

28. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 179.94.

29. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 179.892.

30. (51) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 179.671.

31. (30) David Stremme, Toyota, 179.575.

32. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 179.569.

33. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 179.539.

34. (19) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 179.533.

35. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 179.456.

36. (33) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 179.438.

37. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 179.265.

38. (93) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 178.986.

39. (32) T.J. Bell, Ford, Owner Points.

40. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, Owner Points.

41. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

42. (36) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

43. (26) Josh Wise, Ford, 179.164.

Failed to Qualify

44. (23) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 178.271.

45. (91) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 177.965.

46. (37) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 177.942.

47. (49) Jason Leffler, Toyota, 177.713.

* NATIONWIDE

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. edged past Kyle Busch and into the lead, then held on for the final 20 laps for a relatively easy victory at the Dollar General 300 in Joliet, Ill.

Perhaps more importantly, he left Elliott Sadler even farther behind - and took over the Nationwide Series points lead for the first time since the beginning of June.

At Chicagoland Speedway

Joliet, Ill.

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (3) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 200 laps, 132.5 rating, 47 points, $92,143.

2. (6) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, 131.9, 0, $54,750.

3. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 127.1, 42, $55,093.

4. (16) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 200, 104.4, 0, $31,265.

5. (7) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 200, 103, 0, $27,790.

6. (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 200, 105.9, 39, $31,408.

7. (8) Michael Annett, Ford, 200, 101.7, 38, $29,608.

8. (5) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, 109.2, 37, $28,958.

9. (1) Joey Logano, Toyota, 200, 119.9, 0, $29,950.

10. (42) Brian Scott, Toyota, 200, 90.9, 34, $31,083.

11. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, 93.8, 34, $26,258.

12. (12) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 200, 88, 32, $25,508.

13. (9) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 200, 90.6, 31, $24,958.

14. (13) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 200, 85.4, 30, $24,448.

15. (18) Brad Sweet, Chevrolet, 199, 82.5, 29, $24,488.

16. (25) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 199, 78.9, 29, $24,178.

17. (20) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 199, 73.6, 27, $23,493.

18. (19) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 198, 71.6, 26, $23,233.

19. (21) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 198, 71.5, 25, $23,223.

20. (11) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 196, 73.9, 24, $23,488.

21. (17) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, 196, 59, 23, $22,703.

22. (34) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 195, 54.2, 22, $22,593.

23. (22) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 195, 59.9, 21, $15,990.

24. (24) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 194, 52.8, 20, $22,343.

25. (30) Eric McClure, Toyota, 194, 43.7, 19, $22,683.

26. (37) Juan Carlos Blum, Chevrolet, 193, 47.6, 18, $22,098.

27. (35) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, 192, 44.6, 17, $21,988.

28. (15) Jason Bowles, Toyota, engine, 153, 53.9, 16, $21,868.

29. (14) Benny Gordon, Toyota, sus., 122, 68.7, 15, $21,718.

30. (31) Jere. Clements, Chev., oil leak, 68, 53.2, 14, $21,908.

31. (27) Jeff Green, Toyota, vibration, 30, 53.1, 13, $15,005.

32. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, engine, 30, 45.2, 12, $14,895.

33. (36) Timmy Hill, Ford, vibration, 28, 46.4, 11, $14,785.

34. (38) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, electrical, 26, 42.1, 0, $14,675.

35. (40) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, handling, 23, 36.4, 9, $14,565.

36. (29) Blake Koch, Toyota, vibration, 19, 44.8, 8, $14,455.

37. (33) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, ignition, 19, 45, 0, $14,335.

38. (32) Matt Carter, Chevrolet, rear gear, 15, 40.2, 6, $14,275.

39. (41) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, overheating, 12, 35, 5, $13,940.

40. (28) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, vibration, 11, 36, 0, $13,830.

41. (23) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, electrical, 10, 35.1, 0, $13,725.

42. (26) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, overheating, 9, 33.4, 2, $13,520.

43. (43) Tim Andrews, Ford, ignition, 9, 31.8, 1, $13,413.

Top 10 in Points: 1. R.Stenhouse Jr., 982; 2. E.Sadler, 973; 3. A.Dillon, 948; 4. S.Hornish Jr., 925; 5. J.Allgaier, 875; 6. M.Annett, 837; 7. C.Whitt, 767; 8. M.Bliss, 722; 9. J.Nemechek, 634; 10. B.Scott, 633.