Jeff Gordon had to wait nearly two extra days but it was worth it as he took his 85th career NASCAR victory at the rain-delayed AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Gordon dominated the race, but was forced to hold-off a determined Jimmie Johnson over the final 10 laps to move ahead of Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip to third all-time behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105).
Second place for Johnson has moved the defending five-time champion into the points lead with just one race remaining before the final 10-race Chase for the Cup.
Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose finished 21st, but has moved to within seven points of 20th placed Paul Menard. The Tasmanian will need victory and everything else to go his way at the race in Richmond on Saturday night if he is to claim the second wild-card spot in the Chase for the Cup.
Jeff Gordon speaks in Victory Lane
RESULTS: AdvoCare 500 – Atlanta
| FIN | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | LAPS | STATUS |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 325 | Running |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 325 | Running |
| 3 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 325 | Running |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 325 | Running |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac “Friends of a Feather” | 325 | Running |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 325 | Running |
| 7 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Rheem | 325 | Running |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Charter Comm. | 325 | Running |
| 9 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 325 | Running |
| 10 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 325 | Running |
| 11 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 325 | Running |
| 12 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 325 | Running |
| 13 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 325 | Running |
| 14 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 325 | Running |
| 15 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 325 | Running |
| 16 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald’s | 325 | Running |
| 17 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Carquest / Go Daddy.com | 325 | Running |
| 18 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Quaker State / Menards | 325 | Running |
| 19 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard Military Intelligence / Amp Energy | 325 | Running |
| 20 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army Reserve | 325 | Running |
| 21 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Kwikset | 324 | Running |
| 22 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction / Thank A Teacher Today-Security Benefit | 324 | Running |
| 23 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Pedigree | 324 | Running |
| 24 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 324 | Running |
| 25 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Vampt | 324 | Running |
| 26 | Mike Bliss | Ford | Heil Trailer International | 324 | Running |
| 27 | Mike Skinner | Chevrolet | Collective Soul / Golden Corral | 323 | Running |
| 28 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 321 | Running |
| 29 | David Starr | Ford | AdvoCare | 320 | Running |
| 30 | Andy Lally * | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 319 | Running |
| 31 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 315 | Running |
| 32 | Scott Speed | Ford | Property Masters | 310 | Electrical |
| 33 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 284 | Running |
| 34 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 269 | Engine |
| 35 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS “We Love Logistics” | 249 | Engine |
| 36 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 243 | Accident |
| 37 | David Gilliland | Ford | A&W All American Food | 174 | Transmission |
| 38 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Bush’s Baked Beans | 91 | Accident |
| 39 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 34 | Rear Gear |
| 40 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | ATBD | 27 | Ignition |
| 41 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | James Fund | 23 | Rear Gear |
| 42 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Lazy Days RV | 17 | Electrical |
| 43 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | Big Red | 2 | Vibration |
* Denotes Rookie
STANDINGS: After Race 25 of 36
|
RANK |
+/- |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
BEHIND |
STARTS |
POLES |
WINS |
TOP |
TOP |
| 1 | +1 | Jimmie Johnson | 873 | Leader | 25 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 17 |
| 2 | -1 | Kyle Busch | 852 | -21 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 15 |
| 3 | +1 | Carl Edwards | 835 | -38 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 16 |
| 4 | -1 | Matt Kenseth | 834 | -39 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | +1 | Jeff Gordon | 830 | -43 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 |
| 6 | -1 | Kevin Harvick | 819 | -54 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 7 | +1 | Kurt Busch | 789 | -84 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| 8 | -1 | Ryan Newman | 786 | -87 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 12 |
| 9 | — | Dale EarnhardtJr. | 753 | -120 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | — | Tony Stewart | 751 | -122 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
|
CHASE CUT OFF |
|||||||||
| 11 | — | Brad Keselowski | 728 | -145 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 12 | +1 | Denny Hamlin | 709 | -164 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 13 | +1 | A.J. Allmendinger | 698 | -175 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | -2 | Clint Bowyer | 697 | -176 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 15 | +1 | Greg Biffle | 681 | -192 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 16 | +1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 676 | -197 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 17 | -2 | Kasey Kahne | 667 | -206 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| 18 | — | Joey Logano | 662 | -211 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 19 | — | Mark Martin | 660 | -213 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 20 | — | Paul Menard | 657 | -216 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 21 | +1 | Marcos Ambrose | 650 | -223 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 22 | +1 | Juan Montoya | 650 | -223 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 23 | -2 | David Ragan | 637 | -236 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 24 | — | Jeff Burton | 603 | -270 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | +1 | Jamie McMurray | 579 | -294 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
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