Concord, N.C ? Jimmie Johnson completed the perfect weekend with a win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to take control of the championship standings.

The three-time defending series champion raced to his third victory in the Chase for the Sprint Cup on Saturday night, extending his lead to 90 points over teammate Mark Martin.

Seeking a NASCAR-record fourth consecutive Cup championship, Johnson led every practice session and won the pole to complete yet another dominating run at Lowe’s. He has been the driver to beat at the suburban Charlotte track since early in his career, and the victory was the Lowe’s-sponsored driver’s sixth on the 1.5-mile oval.

“Man, we pulled off a perfect weekend and we’ve always wanted to do that,” Johnson said in his first Victory Lane visit at the track since 2005.

Matt Kenseth was second, followed by Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon, Johnson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports.

Martin, who started the race 12 points behind his teammate in the standings, finished 17th in part because of front-end damage received when he ran into the back of Juan Pablo Montoya on an early restart.

It was that kind of night for several title contenders, as eight of the 12 finished outside the top 10 in a rare off night for the Chase drivers.

Montoya, who was third in the standings and just 58 points out of the lead at the start of the race, dropped to sixth and is now 195 points out. He damaged the front and back ends of his car on the restart problem with Martin and Clint Bowyer, and fell two laps down trying to get to pit road for repairs.

Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards both blew motors, Greg Biffle was in a late spin, and Tony Stewart never contended.

AUTO RACING

Barrichello wins pole

Sao Paulo — Rubens Barrichello won the pole position for his hometown Brazilian Grand Prix, emerging from Saturday’s chaotic, rain-lashed qualifying as the only Formula One contender in the top 10 on the grid.

GOLF

Campbell, Piercy tied

Las Vegas — Chad Campbell made a double bogey on the par-5 16th, then birdied the 18th for a 4-under 67 and a share of the third-round lead with Scott Piercy on Saturday in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Piercy had a 65 to match Campbell at 17-under 196 at TPC Summerlin. Martin Laird (67) was a stroke back, and George McNeill (63), Jason Bohn (65), Jeff Klauk (66) and Bob Heintz (68) followed at 15 under.

Forsman up by one

The Woodlands, Texas — Dan Forsman remained in position for his second Champions Tour victory of the year, shooting a 1-under 71 to take a one-stroke lead in the Administaff Small Business Classic.

Forsman had a 9-under 135 total on The Woodlands Country Club’s Tournament Course. Jay Haas (66), Gene Jones (67) and Mark Wiebe (69) were tied for second, and Tom Watson (68), Bob Tway (70) and John Cook (72) followed at 7 under.

Goosen leads in Portugal

Vilamoura, Portugal — Retief Goosen of South Africa shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Portugal Masters.

NFL

Chiefs promote lineman

Kansas City, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have promoted tackle Barry Richardson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and released linebacker Justin Rogers.

Richardson played six games for the Chiefs last season and was added to the practice squad after being waived out of training camp. He will provide depth against Washington today with starting left tackle Branden Albert out due to an ankle injury. Rogers, who played 15 games with Dallas last season, signed with the Chiefs on Thursday.

FBI investigated threats

Cleveland — The FBI says it investigated reported threats to former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards after he allegedly punched a man outside a downtown night club. FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson said on Saturday that the Browns contacted the Cleveland field office about the threats shortly after the Oct. 5 incident.

Jets sign WR Woodhead

Florham Park, N.J. — The New York Jets have signed wide receiver Danny Woodhead to the active roster from the practice squad, and released defensive tackle Howard Green. Saturday’s moves come with the Jets possibly a bit short-handed in their receiving corps for today’s game against the Buffalo Bills. Jerricho Cotchery (left hamstring) and Brad Smith (quadriceps) are listed as doubtful.

Titans CB won’t play

Nashville, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans will be without both starting cornerbacks against the New England Patriots after changing Cortland Finnegan’s status from questionable to out. The team announced the change on Saturday. Finnegan had been listed as questionable on Friday after missing three straight days of practice. Nick Harper already was out after breaking his right arm last week in a 31-9 loss to Indianapolis.

BASEBALL

Astros interview Garner

Houston — Phil Garner has interviewed for the Houston Astros managerial job — two years after the franchise fired him.

Garner met with the team on Saturday. He was the seventh of the 10 candidates slated to interview with the Astros, who fired Cecil Cooper on Sept. 21. Cooper replaced Garner when he was relieved in August 2007, along with general manager Tim Purpura.

The Astros went 74-88 in 2009, only one game better from their record in the season Garner was released.

Pirates tap pitching coach

Pittsburgh, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Pirates have named Ray Searage pitching coach after two seasons in the same position with Triple-A affiliate Indianapolis. The team also says that first-base coach and infield instructor Perry Hill will not return in 2010.

Reds name coach

Cincinnati — Former Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Price has been hired for the same position with the Cincinnati Reds. He replaces Dick Pole, who was fired on Oct. 2 as the only change on manager Dusty Baker’s staff. Price has spent the last 10 years as a pitching coach in the majors.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Jordan to rejoin Illinois

Champaign, Ill. — Junior reserve guard Jeff Jordan, son of Michael Jordan, will rejoin the Illinois team after leaving following last season to focus on school. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Jordan was given a scholarship before the 2009 spring semester. In all, he appeared in 59 games, totaling 58 points, 42 assists and 24 rebounds. A defensive specialist, he averaged 8.4 minutes as a sophomore after playing 5.3 minutes per game as a true freshman.

COLLEGES

Binghamton report due

Binghamton, N.Y. — A preliminary report to state university trustees is expected on Tuesday, providing the first glimpse of an investigation into Binghamton University’s troubled athletics program. The chain of events that triggered the probe began in February after a newspaper report raised questions about the character of players that coach Kevin Broadus had recruited to the basketball program.

SOCCER

Wizards fall to Seattle, 3-2

Kansas City, Kan. — Seattle Sounders FC became only the second expansion team to make the MLS playoffs in its first year, clinching a postseason berth with a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night.

TENNIS

Nadal to meet Davydenko

Shanghai — Rafael Nadal advanced to the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday after Feliciano Lopez became the ninth player to retire from the tournament. Lopez was trailing 6-1, 3-0 when he retired. The top-seeded Nadal will play in today’s final against sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who beat second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1).

Generali Ladies finalists set

Linz, Austria — The top two seeded players of the Generali Ladies lost Saturday, leaving Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic to play for the title. No. 3 Wickmayer beat top-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-3, and Kvitova defeated second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-3, 6-2.