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Jeff Gordon celebrates after winning the NASCAR Dodge Avenger 500 on Sunday, his third victory in four Nextel Cup races.

“She knew, too, that this was her last weekend to travel before she has the baby, so I think that meant a lot to her to be able to pull that off before she’s stuck at home for a little while.”

Johnson, last week’s winner, finished third for Hendrick. Ryan Newman was fourth, followed by Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. capped a frenzied week that began when he said he’s leaving DEI at the end of the season by finishing eighth.

But Earnhardt said strong support from his crew kept everyone focused.

“My guys said, ’We’re behind you,’ and that took it all away,” he said. “We focused on the car, we drove the car and we had a good time this weekend. I had no pressure, nothing, really on my mind other than what we were supposed to be doing.

“I was surprised. I thought it would be a little more of a distraction.”

Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, teammates at Richard Childress Racing, rounded out the top 10.

Gordon’s radiator was on the verge of busting for the latter part of the race, with thick steam blowing from under the hood as he ran second to Johnson.

But a caution with 23 laps to go changed the race, with Johnson ducking onto pit road while Gordon gambled to stay out. Gordon took over the lead, Johnson restarted in seventh, and no one came close to challenging Gordon again.

Johnson thought he would quickly work his way back to the front on new tires, but had no regrets after traffic prevented the defending champion from scoring his fifth win of the season.

“New tires always pay off here,” Johnson said. “If I was back in that position, I think I would go for tires again.”

Gordon never felt confident that his engine would go the distance. He got terrific jumps on every restart, needing the air to cool down his motor, and said he didn’t pit with his teammate because he worried the engine would overheat during the stop.