Matt Kenseth wins the 2015 Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Speedway

Encapsulating the dominance Joe Gibbs Racing exhibited during much of the regular season, Matt Kenseth outclassed the field to win Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Kenseth led 352 of 400 laps to score his fourth victory of the season and give JGR, which fields cars for three other drivers, its 11th win overall and eighth in the past 11 races. Teammate Kyle Busch finished second in the Federated Auto Parts 400, followed by Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10.

“Certainly right now as a company we’re on a roll,” Kenseth said. “All four of our cars have been really stout. This is a nice way to roll into the Chase.”

Just as the outcome was in little doubt, there was little drama involving how the Chase for the Sprint Cup grid filled out. While Aric Almirola made things interesting, there were no changes among those who qualified when the checkered flag waved concluding the regular season. The same 16 drivers provisionally in the playoffs entering Richmond, remained as is.

Almirola, ranked 17th, recovered from being a lap down and was third on a restart with 18 laps remaining. But he couldn’t muscle around Kenseth, who quickly put some distance between himself and the pack.

“I am really proud of all my guys,” Almirola said. “We worked our guts out all year long and tonight was no different. I feel we have overachieved this year and really maximized our results week in and week out. I am disappointed to come up a few spots short, but we gave it all we had, and that is all we can do.”

Clinching Chase berths were Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Gordon, Bowyer and Paul Menard. McMurray and Menard claimed their first-ever playoff bids, though in the latter’s case it was far closer than expected. Menard labored through the night to finish 26th, three laps down and ended the regular-season 17 points ahead of Almirola.

“We don’t know if we need to be happy or sad,” Menard said of a post-race conversation with his crew chief. “It’s a long night for sure and the last few races have been really bad for us. It was a hell of a lot closer than I wanted it to be, but it’s an all-year process.”

With a series-best four victories apiece, Kenseth, Busch and Johnson are the top Chase seeds. Joey Logano’s three wins earned him the fourth seed.

Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick ended the regular season atop the standings, amassing more points than any driver in 26 races since NASCAR reconfigured its point system before the 2011 season. He is the No. 5 seed.

NASCAR’s playoffs begin Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway.

“It’s a whole different mindset as you go into Chicago, and it’s kind of take no prisoners,” Harvick said. “I don’t like you, and I know they don’t like me, so you race like that on every lap, and we’re going to go after it.”