Jeff Gordon led a one-two finish by Hendrick Motorsports at Atlanta with Jimmie Johnson second. Johnson takes the point lead and NASCAR’s most dominant team, with six championships in the past ten years, surged ahead. They will be strong in the Chase.

VICTORY LANE
Jeff Gordon – 85 wins for his career, Putting him third on the All-Time list.
Hendrick Motorsports – A 1-2 finish and currently three drivers in the Chase.

THE GARAGE
Tony Stewart & Dale Earnhardt Jr. – They have raced 25 races and combined have finished in the top five six times. Unless they find something these guys will be afterthoughts in the Chase.

Power Rankings
(Rankings will be based off of who is running the best, with an emphasis on the last several races but having respect for the duration of the 36 race schedule. Last Week’s Rankings can be found in parenthesis.)
1. (2) Jeff Gordon – Has put together a great season so far and will be in contention for his fifth title.
2. (5) Jimmie Johnson – Will have the lead until next week when the points are realigned.
3. (1) Kyle Busch – Is one week away from taking the points lead through his four wins.
4. (4) Brad Keselowski – Has scored 217 points over the last five races which is 43.4 points per race.
5. (3) Matt Kenseth – If someone besides Kyle Busch wins at Richmond will go from 39 points back to three back in the standings.
6. (6) Ryan Newman – Has scored the same points as Kenseth over the last five races but only has one win compared to three.
7. (7) Kevin Harvick – Will be right atop of the standings after Richmond because of his three wins.
8. (8) Carl Edwards – Third in the Standings but he only has one win.
9. (10) Tony Stewart – Will be battling for the last Chase spot as he has no wins to fall back on if he drops out of the top 10.
10. (NR) Martin Truex Jr. – He is 16th in points but only the top four in the power rankings have been better over the last five races.
11. (9) Kurt Busch – 16 drivers have performed better the last five races.
12. (11) AJ Allmendinger – Has put an average of 32.2 points on the board over the last five weeks.

Driver of Week: Jeff Gordon – third win of the season and lead a total of 146 laps

Stat of the Week: 85 wins, next best by any active driver is 54 with Jimmie Johnson

Last Week’s Prediction Results: Jimmie Johnson – finishes second to his teammate and car owner Jeff Gordon.

This Week’s Prediction for Richmond: Kyle Busch

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