Jeff Gordon proved this weekend that if anyone wants to win the Chase for the Nextel Cup, they have to beat him. Winning for the second week in a row and his first time at Lowe’s Motor Speedway since 1999, Gordon was able to conserve gas and hold off fellow Chaser Clint Bowyer to capture his 81st career victory. Gordon now enjoys a 68 point lead over teammate Jimmie Johnson and 78 points over Clint Bowyer.

In a race that saw fifteen caution flags and one red flag period, it all came down to a shootout with less than ten laps to go. Going into turn one on the restart, Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet sputtered searching for gas, backing the field up and allowing Penske Racing’s Ryan Newman to power around Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Gordon for the lead.

With only two laps to go, Newman drove his No. 12 Alltel Dodge too deep into the corner, spinning the car and backing into the Turn 2 wall. Hoping to end a 75-race winless streak, Newman reported he blew a left rear tire, yet reports released by Goodyear said otherwise.

This final caution flag period set up a green-white-checkered finish between Gordon, Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards. After the final restart, no one had anything for the four-time champ. Winning by over half a second on runner up Clint Bowyer, Gordon earned his sixth win of the season and broke a six race DNF streak at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate and runner-up in the Chase, Jimmie Johnson had the field covered for much of the day. Leading 95 laps and appearing to be on his way to his sixth victory at Lowe’s, Johnson spun the car coming off Turn 2 all by himself. Spinning in the same spot as the night before in the Busch race, Johnson was then mired deep in the field, eventually coming home in fourteenth place.

Those Chasers who have struggled in the opening four races of the Chase continued to have problems Saturday night. Tire issues once again struck Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, putting him two laps down early in the going. Matt Kenseth, who had a strong car in the opening parts of the race leading 32 laps, battled battery problems and a loose race car throughout the night. His strong run ended on lap 159 when he lost the car coming off Turn 4, spun through the grass and collected the front stretch wall.

Problems on pit road bit both Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. Both were exiting their pit stalls when they made contact with another car, causing damage to their right front fenders and leaving both drivers fuming mad. Using the older style car, this damage hurt the aerodynamics of the car and their handling was not the same after that. Kurt Busch’s No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge went on to drop a cylinder later on in the night.

With five races left in the Chase to the Nextel Cup, the title hunt appears to be down to a three man race. Jeff Gordon has had the best car for much of the season and only needs to keep this consistency going for the next few races.

Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson is only 68 points behind, and with the schedule heading to Martinsville and Atlanta – two of Johnson’s best tracks – last year’s champion is a real threat.

The surprise of this year’s Chase has been Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer. The ‘Wild Card’ of the Chase earned his way into the top-12 using consistent runs and proved he belonged by winning the first of ten Chase races at New Hampshire. Finishing second this weekend, Bowyer will need to turn those consistent runs into wins if he wants to beat either Gordon or Johnson for the title.

Regardless of the outcome, this year’s Chase is definitely heating up and looks to become a dash these next five weeks.