Jeff Gordon beats Jimmie Johnson in epic finish at Atlanta

The four-time champion is now in sole possession of third place in the all-time winners list, with only legends Richard Petty and David Pearson ahead of him, thanks to his third victory of the season.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver was the class of the field all day but faced tough opposition from his team-mate Johnson who put the pressure on during the closing laps as both struggled for grip with worn tyres following a long green-flag run.

Gordon led 146 out of the 325 scheduled laps and seemed to have the race under control following the final round of pitstops. However his team-mate seemed to be able to manage his last set of tyres slightly better in the end and as Gordon's #24 Chevrolet started sliding around, Johnson rapidly closed in, looking for a way past.

Gordon put up a fight and made the most out of the grip still available to him. As the lap-count faded Johnson also started sliding and suddenly both seemed to be racing as if on dirt, as their cars drifted sideways out of the corners at more than 160mph.

Johnson experimented with different lines around the crucial final corner but his more experienced team-mate didn't put a foot wrong under pressure, finally pulling out a victory that nobody expected to be quite as dramatic.

Gordon's victory not only allowed him to defeat the series' benchmark right before the playoff, but also to do so at a track that could prove a measuring stick for the Chase, where intermediate venues like Atlanta prevail.

The reigning champion came close to pulling off the ultimate fightback as he struggled for balance early on and got close to dropping a lap down to Gordon before a timely caution and further set up adjustments brought his car to life.

Tony Stewart, in need of a solid result, finished a strong third which takes the pressure off his his team one week ahead of the cut for the final ten championship races. Behind him Penske's Kurt Busch was fourth and clinched a spot in the Chase as did his team-mate Brad Keselowski with a sixth-place finish.

Stewart's team-mate Ryan Newman was 20th at the flag, just the result he needed to secure a place in the championship battle as well.

Dale Earnhardt Jr continues to rank 10th in the standings following a lackluster showing, finishing only 19th ahead of Newman. However his closest challenger for a top-ten spot, Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer, ended up against the barrier following contact with Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya, thus easing the pressure on the Hendrick driver in the point standings.

Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards looked potential contenders for victory. Kenseth in particular led the race for 63 laps. Although his pitstops once again proved the class of the field, his team didn't fare as well in the decisive four-tyre changes.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin was eighth and continues to hold on to the final wildcard entry, while his team-mate Kyle Busch who led early on and was leading the points entering Tuesday's race, suffered with his car's balance after hitting the barrier in the first half of the race.

The race had to be interrupted twice due to rain, including a 24-minute red-flag period but eventually the scheduled distance was completed after 4 hours of running.