LAS VEGAS - Three races this season, three battles between Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing.

Give Hendrick the edge, two wins to one, after Jimmie Johnson stopped the Roush stranglehold at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a victory on Sunday.

But Roush came out a little cleaner after Johnson and runner-up Kyle Busch, another Hendrick driver, both failed post-race inspection. The roof on Johnson's Chevrolet was too low, and the rear quarter panel on Busch's car was too high.

There were no immediate penalties announced, but NASCAR could elect to dock points from both drivers. Doing so would cost Johnson the 15-point lead he has over reigning Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch.

But Johnson's isn't points racing, yet, focusing instead on spending the $30,000 bonus he earned for taking over the points lead.

"I can have a little fun at the blackjack table," Johnson said . "But I'm not concerned about the points lead yet."

Johnson, who won for the 15th time in his career, has victories in five of the last nine races, dating to last season. He hasn't finished worse than sixth since October, and this victory put him right back where he spent most of last season - on top of the points.

This latest victory helped Hendrick Motorsports claim a piece of the track in the desert that Roush Racing has dominated with five victories in the first seven races.

But with Johnson and Hendrick teammates Kyle Busch finishing second and Jeff Gordon fourth, the Roush dominance is over. Kurt Busch carried the Roush flag with a third-place finish.

Hendrick now has two wins this season - Gordon won the season-opener at Daytona - and Roush has one with Greg Biffle winning at California.

"It's going to be a fun battle all the way to the end," Kurt Busch said. "You could say that Hendrick and Roush definitely have a distinct advantage over the other groups."

Johnson's win also ruined what could have been a banner day for the Busch brothers, Las Vegas natives.

As Johnson was driving his Chevrolet to Victory Lane, Kyle was treasuring his second-place finish.

"This is as good as a win as far as I'm concerned," he yelled to his crew.

"I had a bunch of guys put money on me, so it would have been cool to have Jimmie pull over and let us win," said Kyle, who went off at 60-1 before the race. "But, hey, next year I'll probably have a lot lower odds."

The Busch brothers have had a whirlwind week in Vegas. It's always a party when the boys are home, as they cram in all the friend and family visits they can - as well as a dozen or so visits to the In-N-Out Burger.

Kyle even squeezed in a stint as instructor for a high school defensive driving course.

But all the glitz and glamour isn't always what it's cracked up to be, at least for Kurt, who seemed to struggle at his home track. So with the race coming to an end, and his shot at a victory gone, he had an even harder time accepting the kid he calls "Shrub" beating him to the finish line.

"To see (Kyle) in front of me, oooh, that was tough to swallow," Kurt said. "But I am so very proud of him. But I officially have to cut it out from here: No more advice for Kyle."

Kevin Harvick, who had to start in 42nd place because his team admittedly cheated in qualifying by not using a full tank of gas, battled back and overcame a speeding penalty to finish fifth. Greg Biffle was sixth, followed by Casey Mears and Matt Kenseth, the two-time defending race winner.

Polesitter Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart rounded out the top 10.