Johnson on the brink of 50 victories, but then what?

HAMPTON, Ga. -- It's the Fastest to 50 Club, and Sprint Cup drivers experience only a very narrow window to attempt joining the exclusive group.

Once in, future success at the same amazing rate is not guaranteed. Just ask Jeff Gordon. He reached the 50-win plateau faster than anyone in the history of NASCAR, needing just 232 Cup starts to get there.

And it's not like he's been a slouch since -- but after 50 victories in his first 232 starts, he's added a mere 32 in his last 352 for a total of 82 that currently has him ranked sixth on the all-time list. After Gordon, the drivers who reached 50 victories in their careers the next fastest are Darrell Waltrip (84 career wins, reached No. 50 in 278 races) and David Pearson (105 wins, reached No. 50 in 293 races).

Despite the fact that 32 race victories makes for a nice career in most record books, there was talk back in the day when Gordon reached 50 so quickly that he might be the one driver to make some sort of run at Richard Petty's record 200 race wins, or at least become the first guy since Pearson to top 100. Such talk has ceased as Gordon's victory production tailed off in recent seasons.

"I can tell you that I probably felt the same way about it then as I do now," Gordon said of reaching 50 wins at age 29 in 2000. "It was just [being] overwhelmed and in disbelief that I won 50 races. Just like I do now with 82, I can't believe it; it just blows me away.

"We went on an incredible streak there where we were winning 10-plus races every year [for three in a row from 1996 through '98], or seven-plus (for five in a row from 1995 through '99). They came in a hurry. It is hard to really put it in perspective and appreciate it at that moment when you are going through it like we did then. I can tell you I appreciate it a whole lot more now today than I ever have."

What stirred the talk of the Fastest to 50 Club on Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the fact that four-time defending Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is on the verge of joining. He won race No. 49 -- his second in a row in this season that is only three races old heading into Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 -- last week at Las Vegas.

As good as the 34-year-old Johnson has been in his career, he's behind the Gordon Curve when it comes to breaking into the 50-win crowd. With 294 starts already behind him, Johnson will have to hustle, in fact, to get there quicker than another Johnson -- Hall of Famer Junior Johnson -- did during his driving career. It took Junior Johnson 303 starts to crack 50, and he promptly retired as a driver just 10 races later. (Continued)