By Eric Johnson - On November 15, 1992, Atlanta Motor Speedway was the site of one of the greatest races in NASCAR Nextel Cup racing history. The event, the Hooters 500 – the 29th and final race on the 29-race 1992 schedule — not only marked the final race for Richard “The King” Petty (the Babe Ruth of NASCAR), but was of major historical importance more for the fact that six drivers were still in contention to win the Winston Cup Championship (now known as the Nextel Cup). Also of note on that bright and sunny day in Hampton, Georgia was that a young Busch Grand National driver named Jeff Gordon was making his first-career NASCAR Winston Cup start. While Gordon would crash out of the race inauspiciously on lap number 164, Alan Kulwicki, an under funded privateer Ford driver, would fearlessly forge onward, placing second in the race, and in doing so, won the NASCAR Winston Cup title by a mere 10 points over then superstar Bill Elliott.

15 years later, Jeff Gordon was once again at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the four-time Nextel Cup Champion lined-up for the Pep Boys Auto 500 on Sunday, October 28, 2007. The 33rd of 36 rounds on the 2007 Nextel Cup schedule, it was also the seventh of 10 rounds in NASCAR’s Chase of the Nextel Cup, the chase Gordon was leading somewhat handily over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmy Johnson.

Like virtually every NASCAR Nextel Cup race, The Pep Boys Auto 500 went right down to the bitter end. After yellow flag number 13, the 328-lap race went back to green on lap number 322, but Denny Hamlin immediately ran out of gasoline, thus causing a number of cars to bunch up and collapse in on one another. As a result, Martin Truex Junior slammed into the back of Hamlin and Kyle Busch was spun out in the mess. During the mêlée’, Jimmy Johnson was able to find away around Hamlin and inherit the lead. As the field circulated the 1.54-mile quad oval under yellow, Johnson led the way until lap number 327 when the green-white-checkered flags were waved. Johnson got a great jump ahead of second and third place drivers Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Junior. But by the time the lap was complete, Earnhardt’ s left front wheel inexplicably snapped right off of its axle, sending the red #8 Chevrolet right up into the wall. Along the way, Junior took an innocent Jamie McMurray with him. That was all it took to call the race, Johnson declared the winner over Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer sixth. Jeff Gordon, in an off-song performance (for him) rounded out the top seven.

“I would have given anything for those last two laps to go green,” Roush Racing wheelman Carl Edwards immediately after the race.

Added Jeff Gordon, who now leads teammate Johnson in the Chase for the Nextel Cup with only three rounds remaining: “It wasn’t a real great performance for us today. We struggled in the mid-point of race. We got it turned around a bit too late, but by the end of the race, our car was awesome. If we would have had a five lap run, we might have been there at the finish.”

Johnson, while somewhat subdued in Victory Lane, was pleased things turned out the way they did. “I got a great restart, so I thought I was in good shape,” explained the Californian of his eighth win of the 2007 season. “The circumstances at the end really worked for us.”

The armada of 18-wheel trucks that house the Nextel Cup circuit are already loaded and on their way west to Texas Motor Speedway, the 1.5-mile quad oval set to host round 33 of the 36-round Nextel Cup Series next Sunday afternoon. It should prove to be a thriller as the Chase for Cup has now turned into a straight up two-man boxing match between Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon.