Jimmie Johnson had enough time to think about how  good his car was—and worry that he might blow it.

Johnson’s third victory of the season served notice that he is not to be taken lightly with the start of the Chase for the championship only two weeks away.

Runner-up Greg Biffle also had a fast car, but barely kept in touch with Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet on the 2-mile oval, finishing 2.076 seconds behind the winner.

Johnson won the race at the former California Speedway for the second straight year and showed points leader Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards—the two hottest drivers in the series coming into this race—that he remains a serious contender for a third straight title.

In February, Johnson led the most laps here but lost the race when Edwards passed him with 23 to go. This time, nobody could touch Johnson.

Time after time he built leads of between 5 and 12 seconds, only to see them erased by yellow flags. But it didn’t faze Johnson, who just rebuilt the margin after the next restart.

Drivers vying for the final positions in the Chase remained close, with Kenseth vaulting past 15th-place Jeff Gordon into ninth in points, and Hamlin and 10th-place Clint Bowyer 11th and 12th in the standings. David Ragan, who finished 13th Sunday, stayed in 13th, but is just 17 points behind Bowyer, while Kahne remained 14th, 44 points out of the Chase lineup.

Up next, a trip to Richmond Va, for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where Jimmie Johnson is the defending race champion.