Although Gordon was the star of the pre-race show things were different on the track with the #24 Hendrick Chevrolet most uncharacteristically languishing on the fringes of the top 20 for much of the race. Thanks to a quick penultimate pitstop Gordon found himself in the top ten with 50 laps to go and seventh at the flag was pretty much the highest he had been all day.
Kurt Busch, Kahne and the
Red Bull Toyota of Brian Vickers completed the top ten with Kyle Busch a dejected 17th. Further down the order pole man Biffle finished a lap down in 22nd after pitting under green flag conditions with 25 laps to go while Hamlin was classified 24th after his fuel gamble failed to pay off. Earnhardt Jr was classified 25th after his late crash with Tony Stewart six laps down in 30th after a puncture and an engine problem prevented him from defending his Pep Boys 500 title.
Perhaps the most disappointed driver of all was Truex Jr who, after leading more laps than anyone else, was classified 31st.
The high speed, abrasive nature of the Atlanta oval contributed to a number of crashes and tyre failures with David Gilliland and Mark Martin involved in the hardest hit of the day when Martin T-Boned a spinning Gilliland on lap 65. Jeremy Mayfield's debt with Haas CNC Racing ended in the turn three wall while Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek and Juan Montoya were among the other drivers to suffer from tyre woes.
In the points standings Johnson's second straight win brings him to within nine points of Gordon with three races remaining after Gordon's excellent job of salvaging a decent result from a poor day. Bowyer's late rally keeps him in third place, 111 points behind Gordon while everyone else, now led by Edwards, is more than 250 points back.
![Jimmie Johnson - Kobalt/Lowe's Chevrolet [pic credit: GM media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/300233.jpg)
