Talladega, Ala. – There was a time when Jeff Gordon didn’t like restrictor-plate racing. No more.
Gordon proved again Sunday he is NASCAR’s new king of racing at plate tracks, fighting off challenger after challenger on the way to winning the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway in overtime.
“This is the type of racing where experience is really key,” Gordon said. “The more that I get used to watching my mirror, using the air and having the kind of car I had today, I feel like I get better at restrictor-plate racing.”
It was Gordon’s 10th victory overall and fourth in the past five races at Talladega and Daytona, the only tracks NASCAR requires the horsepower-sapping plates to slow cars.
The four-time Cup champion led 139 of the 194 laps on the way to his fourth victory on the 2.66-mile oval. He held off Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip at the end of a two-lap shootout, set up by a six-car crash with one lap remaining in regulation that ended the chances of fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr.
By staying up front most of the day, Gordon was able to avoid a wild, 25-car crash that took out several top contenders, as well as the crash on lap 187 that involved Earnhardt, series points leader Jimmie Johnson and pole-winner Kevin Harvick.
But Gordon got a good start when the green flag waved for lap 193 and he stayed out front as the contenders fought it out behind him.
Stewart, with Waltrip giving him a hard push, managed to grab the second spot, but finished 0.192 seconds – about two car-lengths – behind Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet. It is the 13th consecutive victory for Chevy at the Alabama track.
“Michael pushed me all the way down the backstretch on the white flag lap and I still couldn’t catch the 24,” said Stewart, who finished second at Talladega for the fourth time. “Finishing in the top two isn’t bad at this place.”
Gordon defended his victory last year in this race and added this win to triumphs in February in the Daytona 500 and last July at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. He has grabbed the mantle of near invincibility on plate tracks once held by the late Dale Earnhardt and inherited by Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Junior and Waltrip have won nine of the past 17 plate races, and they came from near the back of the 43-car field to get into contention on Sunday. But this one was all Gordon as he raced to his third victory in nine races this season and the 72nd of his career.
Jeremy Mayfield finished fourth, followed by Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch.
