Imagine a NASCAR finish so close, so dependent on teamwork, that it redefined the sport. In 2011, Hendrick Motorsports orchestrated a superspeedway spectacle at Talladega that fans still talk about today. But here's where it gets controversial... Was it pure skill, or a calculated exploitation of a loophole?
As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, the pressure is on for drivers like Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Elliott to secure their spots in the Championship 4 race in Phoenix. Team owner Rick Hendrick has always emphasized teamwork, and at Talladega, with its pack racing and drafting, collaboration becomes even more critical. These drivers will need to strategically work with each other and their allies if they want to maximize their chances of making it into the final round. This weekend, team strategy will be key, however, back in 2011, the concept of teamwork looked very different, especially at superspeedways like Talladega.
Back then, "tandem racing" was all the rage. Think of it as a high-speed, two-car train. Two drivers, often teammates or from the same manufacturer, would latch onto each other, one pushing the other to create a super-fast pairing. They'd bump draft, essentially tapping each other's rear bumpers, to gain massive momentum and blast past other duos doing the same thing. It was a unique and sometimes chaotic spectacle. And this is the part most people miss... it wasn't just about speed; it was about trust and nerve.
Tandem racing reached its peak at the colossal Talladega Superspeedway. And two Hendrick Motorsports stars, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., fully capitalized on it during the spring race of 2011. What followed was one of the most nail-biting finishes in NASCAR history.
Earnhardt Jr. himself described the feeling as "unnatural." In a 2014 interview, he told the Charlotte Observer, "When we started this tandem stuff… it felt so unnatural to run second by having to draft a guy that was going to win the race. That was the oddest thing to wrap my brain around. Man, we’re going to run a race today and I might have to settle for second, intentionally.” Can you imagine intentionally settling for second place? That's the level of team commitment we're talking about.
That spring at Talladega, the Hendrick Motorsports cars were seriously fast. During qualifying, they swept the top four positions: Jeff Gordon on the pole, followed by Johnson, Mark Martin, and Earnhardt Jr. The stage was set for a dominant performance.
From the green flag, Gordon and Martin paired up, as did Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. These teammates remained glued together for the majority of the race. As Johnson later remarked, "We never went more than a half a lap without each other." Talk about dedication!
The race itself was a whirlwind. Just three laps in, Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip challenged for the lead. By lap 10, Denny Hamlin had pushed Ryan Newman to the front. The lead changes were constant, showcasing the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing.
However, the Johnson-Earnhardt duo faced a minor setback on lap 28. A caution flag came out when Landon Cassill hit Brian Vickers, sending him spinning. While both Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. avoided the wreck, Earnhardt Jr.'s car sustained some damage. Despite Johnson having a slight speed advantage, Earnhardt Jr. knew he had to push Johnson for the remainder of the race if they hoped to secure a strong finish.
A key aspect of tandem racing was the immense speed advantage gained in two-car drafts. Estimates suggested that a well-matched duo could gain up to 20 mph on the competition. While thrilling, it often felt like a dangerous balancing act as teams navigated the high-banked, 2.66-mile superspeedway. Think of it like threading a needle at 200 mph!
This dynamic led to a staggering 88 lead changes throughout the race. It became clear that success depended on perfect timing, a bit of luck, and a reliable drafting partner. With just three laps remaining, seven pairs of cars were in contention for the win, including all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers. Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, along with Bowyer and Kevin Harvick, seemed to have a slight edge.
But everything changed on the final lap. Gordon and Martin surged ahead of Bowyer and Harvick coming out of turn four. However, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. were charging hard in fifth and sixth, diving to the bottom lane with incredible momentum.
This set up a four-wide sprint to the finish line. Johnson managed to edge past Bowyer by a mere .002 seconds, tying the record for the closest margin of victory in NASCAR history. This record stood until 2024, when Kyle Larson, also driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won at Kansas Speedway by an even tinier .001 of a second.
"When you're four wide coming across the finish line, that’s a pretty good race,” Johnson exclaimed after the race. “There was just so much going on at the end of that thing coming to the stripe. They were worried about racing each other and left the bottom open, and we had momentum on our side and off we went. We were just the lucky guy at the end with a good run. We had some big ‘mo’ on our side.”
In a gesture of sportsmanship, Johnson handed the trophy to Earnhardt Jr., who had finished fourth. "Well, I got it and gave it to him,” Johnson explained. “He goes, ‘I don’t want it.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve got to give you something - here. Thanks.’ He’s got the checkered flag over there, and I can’t wait to thank him for a good job done today.”
Earnhardt Jr. echoed the sentiment, saying, “If I couldn’t win the race, I wanted Jimmie to win the race, because I had worked with him all day, and he’s my teammate and I’m proud to be driving for Hendrick Motorsports. This was a great finish and a great weekend for us to be able to qualify like we did (sweeping the top four starting spots), race like we did and we have awesome engines, and we build great cars. And we all finished very well today, and that’s a tribute to the craftsmanship we have back in Charlotte.”
However, the era of tandem racing was short-lived. After the season, NASCAR implemented new rules to limit the practice, citing concerns about safety and fan dissatisfaction. Some argued that it took away from individual driver skill, while others felt it created an artificial and predictable racing product.
So, what do you think? Was tandem racing a brilliant strategy that showcased teamwork, or a dangerous gimmick that detracted from the sport? Should NASCAR have allowed it to continue, or was banning it the right call? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
