Was Clint Bowyer able to make it a three-way Chase this week?

I predict a riot -- or at least a tight points race between Hendrick Motorsport teammates, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Greg Biffle brought the field to the green and lead until lap two, when Kurt Busch took over. At lap 34, all of the cars headed down pit road after Juan Pablo Montoya called out the first caution flag of the afternoon after he blew out a right-front tire. Juan wasn’t the only one with tire problems: over the course of the race, David Ragan, Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Johnny Sauter, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would all face tire trouble. Coming out of the pits, Kurt Busch reclaimed his lead while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was forced to go to the back of the pack after hitting the pit road commitment cone.

The green flag was dropped on lap 38 and revoked on lap 40 when Dave Blaney’s car ran out of power. Ten laps later, eight of the Chase-contending cars were running within the top ten while Martin Truex Jr. passed Busch for the lead. This lead was short lived after Kurt beat Truex off of pit stop under the yellow. David Stremme followed in Earnhardt’s path, knocking over the commitment cone, which flew up and hit Clint Bowyer. Bowyer suffered minor damage, but was able to repairs his car quickly and return to the race.

David Gilliland spun and was hit by Mark Martin, issuing forth the third caution. Before the checkered flag was waved, 11 more caution flags would be called, setting a record for caution flags at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After a short red flag, the cars clocking in lap 69 0f 328. Despite being sent to the back of the line on lap 34, Dale Earnhardt managed to work his way into the top five, where he remained the fastest car on the track.

DEI teammates Earnhardt Jr. and Truex Jr. entered the track 1-2 after another pit stop and caution flag. Earnhardt would later have to re-enter pit road for new tires and fall a lap to the leaders. It would be almost 60 laps until another car would lead, and the pass came under a yellow. Kyle Busch’s pit crew helped him to beat Truex off of pit road. However, Truex was able to pass both Busch brothers on lap 178 to take the lead once again.

Kasey Kahne had a brief stint as race leader until Kyle Busch passed him on lap 240. 28 laps later, an engine was blown, but, surprisingly, it did not belong to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Newman was forced to pack up early after his engine gave way. Fuel became an important factor as Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch swapped the lead multiple times. Denny Hamlin opted not to stay out on the last caution of the evening where the leaders pitted. But this strategy didn’t prove to be so profitable: before he could even complete lap 322, Hamlin’s car ran out of fuel. Jimmie Johnson, who exited the pits first, kicked off the green-white-checkered finish.

On the last lap of the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost his tire in a move that resembled Kurt Busch back in 2004. Unlike Busch, however, Earnhardt Jr. could not control his car and slammed it into the wall, collecting Jamie McMurray in his wake. Jimmie Johnson crossed under the checkered and yellow flags to win his eighth race of the season. Johnson now sits nine points behind Jeff Gordon in the Championship points race.

"Now, I feel very good about where we are in the points,” Johnson commented, “we can go lead laps, we can try to lead the most laps and really race for this championship over the next three races. I'm very excited about that."

Clint Bowyer remains 111 point back in the third seat, but he hasn’t given up hope yet.

"What we have to do is keep digging," he said. "We can't give up, we didn't give up, and we won't give up."

One week after their caught-on-camera scuffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards have been pushed into the media spotlight. However, after their top-five finishes, the attention was turned back toward racing. Edwards moved up into fourth in the points, while Kenseth launched himself out of 12th place, into 11th.

With Johnson’s win, the points race has become more exciting than ever. Will Johnson gain the 10 points he needs to lead? Will Edwards’ temper flare again? Will Dale Earnhardt finally be able to bring home a solid finish for DEI? Find out next week, here, at the Checkered Flag!