It appears the torch has officially been passed

CONCORD, N.C. -- There was a brief moment at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday when it appeared the clock had been turned back.

But then, just as quickly as Jeff Gordon passed Jimmie Johnson for the lead late in the NASCAR Banking 500, it was back to the future. Or at least back to the present.

One-race Chase

Thanks to another impressive victory at Lowe's, David Caraviello says as long as Jimmie Johnson survives Talladega, he will win his fourth consecutive championship.

• Complete story
• Johnson wins again at LMS
• Caraviello: Jimmie fatigue

That the present belongs to Johnson, and not Gordon, cannot be disputed. Even Gordon, his crew chief Steve Letarte and his car owner Rick Hendrick have a difficult time contesting that at the least the immediate future already is in Johnson's firm ownership grip as well.

Yet, there it was on Saturday for the racing world to behold -- like the days of old: Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet passing Johnson's No. 48 Chevy for the lead with just 15 laps remaining in a 334-lap event.

Alas, it was a mirage. Gordon and Letarte and, well, really anyone who had been paying close attention knew it. On Letarte's command, the No. 24 team had gambled on the previous pit stop -- taking on only two tires to gain valuable track position while Johnson and most of the rest of the cars running up front took on four.

So Gordon's breath of fresh air -- or was it a blast from the past? -- lasted a mere two laps. Then Johnson not only passed him, but so did Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne. Those drivers eventually finished one-two-three in the event, leaving Gordon surprisingly upbeat and satisfied despite having to settle for fourth.

"We were able to get to the outside of Jimmie and I thought, 'I don't know, if we're able to get out front, maybe these two tires will hold up,'" Gordon said. "We gave it everything we had. But if we hadn't taken two, we would never have had a shot at him. We just wouldn't have been able to get up through there and pass enough cars and probably would have finished ninth or 10th. So just to be battling up there for the win made for a spectacular night." (Continued)