Jimmie Johnson vs. Jeff Gordon part 2: Atlanta Motor Speedway, 2011 | 40 wins in 40 days

Editor’s note: This is the 20th in a 40-part series highlighting 40 of the greatest wins in the history of Hendrick Motorsports to finish its 40th anniversary season. A new installment will be released each day from Nov. 22, 2024 through New Year’s Eve. Votes were taken from Hendrick Motorsports employees as well as representatives of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Racing Insights with all unanimous selections being ushered in automatically. The remaining wins were deliberated and decided upon by a small panel.

CONCORD, N.C. - Battles between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were more than just an occasional occurrence throughout their careers. 

Just in terms of fighting for race wins, Gordon and Johnson finished 1-2, 11 times. 

The last of those may have provided one of the most intense races for a victory in NASCAR Cup Series history. This was no short-track, bump-and-run, riding-the-brakes type of physical encounter all at reasonable speeds. No, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2011, this was two drivers on the cutting edge of control sliding sideways out of corners and rip-roaring down straightaways at nearly 200 miles per hour. 

“That was incredible, and both of those guys were driving those cars on the edge,” Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Gordon at the time, told HendrickMotorsports.com in a recent interview. “That race was insane. One of the drivers came up to me on pit road afterward and said, ‘That was like watching Greek mythology. That was like two gods throwing lightning bolts at each other.’ I thought that was a pretty good analogy of what happened.” 

And all on a Tuesday. With a little history on the line, to boot. 

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A win would finally give Jeff Gordon his 85th career victory, moving him past Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for sole possession of third place on the all-time, NASCAR Cup Series win list. It would also give Gordon the most victories in the sport's modern era (1972-present). 

Aside from history and a late-race tussle for the ages betwixt a pair of NASCAR legends, there were other notable elements surrounding the 2011 fall race at Atlanta. 

First was the weather. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday evening, Sept. 2, but torrential rains from Tropical Storm Lee pushed the event back two days, making it the first race to run on a Tuesday since 2007 and only the second since 1978. 

Then there was Gordon's resurgence. After winning just one race the previous three seasons combined, he'd already visited victory lane twice in 2011 (Phoenix Raceway, Pocono Raceway). With nine top-10 finishes in his previous 12 races coming in, Gordon seemed to be positioning himself for a run at a fifth championship. 

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In prior years, Johnson had kept the window slammed on anyone else with title aspirations. He was seeking an unprecedented sixth championship in a row in 2011. 

Gordon had once fashioned together his own era of domination, winning championships in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001 and seemed more than poised to rule the sport with an iron fist for years to come. But Johnson, whom Gordon helped get started at Hendrick Motorsports, entered full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2002 and quickly ascended, becoming a challenger and then surpassing the rest of the field. 

Certainly, there was mutual respect and admiration between the two. But after a decade of trying to regain championship status and Gordon on the verge of finally unseating his younger teammate, prevailing in a toe-to-toe battle only added to the meaning of the day. 

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“Dueling it out with my teammate and a guy I kind of had a role bringing into Hendrick Motorsports, seeing him have all the success and in many ways, taking that success away from myself - he had really built himself up in a way to where they were sort of the top team at Hendrick and the top team in the sport at the time," Gordon said in a recent interview. "It was awesome to see but at the same time, you’re wanting your own piece of that action. So, I was pretty determined that day but as you can tell in the video, so was he.

“We loved to race one another. We really loved to beat one another and that was one of those days where I felt like I had the car and had the track position and it was our day to pull that one off.”

The way the two cars fired off on that Tuesday, a classic finish decided between the two seemed a long shot at best. Gordon rocketed from his fifth starting position and snatched the lead away from Kyle Busch on lap 46. Johnson, who started 17th, was freefalling in the other direction, battling a wickedly loose race car. 

As the race dragged on, Gordon nearly passed Johnson, not for the lead but to put the No. 48 car a lap down. However, a critical adjustment made during a pit stop allowed Johnson to fend Gordon off until a caution flag fell with the No. 48 the last car on the lead lap. 

While Johnson got better, Gordon seemed to fade a bit, especially on long runs. As is often the case, Atlanta Motor Speedway changed significantly over the course of the race, especially with the track rubbering up, a condition that really seemed to hurt the 24. 

Although the last thing the area needed was more rain, it was exactly what the doctor ordered for Gordon and Gustafson, who couldn't seem to find the right adjustment under green flag conditions. And when it arrived, necessitating a red flag, it wiped the slate clean for everyone.

“Our car, we were really good on a green track. Like, really good," Gustafson said. "And we would dominate and as the track rubbered up, we got worse. So, we dominated the early part of that race and then we fell back and I remember another rain delay came through and when it rained, it cleared the track off. As soon as the track went back green and the rubber was off, we went straight to the front.”

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Whether it was the weather, some significant swings at the setup or a combination of both, Gordon indeed came alive again. He restarted fourth after a caution with around 70 laps to go and passed Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Johnson in succession to take the lead. But shortly after, Gordon radioed to Gustafson to report a vibration. 

Just seven laps later, Johnson pitted from second place, making his last stop with 42 to go. Between the prospects of losing lap time to the 48 and the concern over a possible tire issue, Gustafson brought Gordon down a lap later. And though it was squarely in the pit window, it was a little earlier than preferred as Gordon's car still struggled on longer runs. 

And it almost caught up to them. As fast as Johnson did late. 

Gordon blended back in front of Johnson and stretched his advantage to two seconds with 20 laps to go but just 10 circuits later, the No. 48 had arrived on Gordon's back bumper again. 

The rest of the way could be the basis of a textbook on fast, clean racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The heavily skewed Car of Tomorrow turned almost 45 degrees toward the infield as they slid sideways through and out of corners. Several times, Johnson got to Gordon's inside and at one point, pulled ahead by a fender getting into turn one, but Gordon's commitment to the high lane paid off with big runs down the straightaways. 

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“If he’d gotten by me it might have been game over but I had this high line working where he couldn’t quite clear me or get side by side enough to complete a pass,” Gordon said. “I just knew I couldn’t make any mistakes but we’re pushing the car so far to the edge and you’re right up against the wall. At the same time, inside the car, I knew I was carrying the momentum out of turn two and he was working that middle lane and all I knew is he’d get there and I thought, ‘Oh man, I hope he doesn’t get up beside me.’ Then, I’d clear him and I’d look in the mirror and I couldn’t see how loose he was, I just knew I’d gap him and I’d look and think, ‘Phew, I can breathe for a half a lap.' And then here he’d come again.”

Undoubtedly, there were tough victories earned over the first 84 wins of his career. But maybe never before or after was the full volume of Gordon's driving talent - and Johnson's, for that matter - more on display than those last 40-50 laps at Atlanta. A final slip by Johnson in turn four coming to the white flag was just the break and the gap Gordon needed to nurse the car home over the final circuit. 

Win No. 85 had arrived and along with it, a place in the record books all to Gordon's own. But more wins would follow and, in that moment, and still today when reflecting on it, the history is almost secondary to the driving that two friends, rivals and teammates did that day. 

“It was really cool to break out of that category and kind of be in my own,” Gordon admitted. “Because nobody had ever won more than that other than the two guys ahead of me (Richard Petty and David Pearson) that you’re never going to catch. That was significant and more significant to me was the amazing battle Jimmie and I had. I think it probably goes down as some of the best 40 laps of my career. I know it didn’t end up as well for Jimmie but I’d hope he’d say something similar because it was fun.” 

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Gordon eventually retired with 93 wins and still has a firm hold on the third spot all time. 

With that many victories to his name, there are a few these days that he needs to think about for a minute to recall. No. 85, however, is not one of those. 

“That was an amazing race,” Gordon said. “Atlanta is just a cool track. Back then with the surface being worn out, managing tires and sliding the cars around and just the way that whole race unfolded there at the end was really, really cool.”

In fact, few if any that were there that day will soon forget.

“I remember the battle Jimmie and Jeff had to win that race was the best battle of any race I’ve won,” Gustafson said.  “It meant a lot to Jeff and I think the whole team, to be honest. We all had huge admiration for Jeff. We all wanted to win a championship with him too and we knew that the 48 and Jimmie were the clear pinnacle of the sport. I would argue that ’11, definitely ’13 and ’14 we had gotten back on top of them. I thought we’d gotten to a place where we could contend for a championship.”