two consecutive Top 5 finishes. Statistically, Johnson's 2011 season was one of his worst performances to date, even though he finished sixth in the points. He only won two races during the season. The first was the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, where Johnson started on the outside pole and tandem-drafted with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the entire race. On the last lap, with Johnson in front, he and Earnhardt Jr. were in fifth and sixth off of turn 4, behind two other pairs of cars – their Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, and the Richard Childress drafting pair of Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. In the tri-oval, Earnhardt Jr. gave Johnson enough of a push to nip Bowyer at the finish line by 0.002 seconds. This was the closest recorded finish in Talladega history and tied the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 for closest margin of victory in NASCAR history. After finishing in the first 15 positions in the next four races, Johnson failed to finish the Coca-Cola 600 after his engine failed. Three weeks later, in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, Johnson spun off turn two, flattening multiple tires, and breaking the sway bar which prompted him to a finish of 27th. During the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Johnson finished seventh after starting 12th on the grid. The finish moved Johnson to third in the Drivers' standings. After returning to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. ran together for most of the race, like at Talladega, until Johnson pitted under a caution flag. Johnson fell down the grid and was involved in a last-lap accident, prompting him to finish 20th. During the next two races, Johnson finished third and fifth in the Quaker State 400 and the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Two weeks later, Johnson found himself finishing 19th during the Brickyard 400 after coming to pit road with 30 laps remaining in the event. Johnson finished fourth in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, after bumping Kurt Busch on the final lap. In the next race, Johnson finished tenth. Johnson finished in the Top 5 in the following three races. During the last race of the regular season, the Wonderful Pistachios 400, Johnson finished in the 31st position. While at Chicagoland Speedway for the GEICO 400, Johnson finished 10th. Afterward, Johnson finished 18th in the Sylvania 300, then