TALLADEGA, ALA. – It’s not in Jeff Gordon’s nature to go slow, and asking the four-time series champion to ride aimlessly around in the back of the pack is absurd.
But with all the unknowns surrounding Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, it seemed to be the safest strategy. Still, he resisted, but he had a change of heart, agreeing to turn parade laps for much of the race before surging past Jimmie Johnson on the final lap to become the career victory leader at restrictor-plate tracks.
“It was the hardest race I’ve ever had to be in. I’ve never had that type of mind-set before,” Gordon said. “I’ve never done that before. I even told Rick Hendrick earlier in the week that some guys were talking about that strategy, and I can’t do it”
He parlayed his decision into his 12th career plate win and fifth victory this season, and moved back on top of the points standings. He leads Johnson by nine points with six races remaining in the Chase for the championship.
Fears over the Car of Tomorrow’s plate debut and former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve’s first Nextel Cup event had the field concerned the race would be one big demolition derby. So Gordon decided he’d avoid the mess by staying in the back.
Gordon, who started 34th, suffered a late-race setback when he pulled out of his pit with a hose hanging from his car, earning a pass-through penalty that seemed to take him out of contention. Still, he sat back, resisting the urge to charge to the front.
Gordon eventually moved into the top 15 as the race neared its completion. Gordon was stuck behind Johnson, though, and waited until the last lap to make a move toward the front. He finally jumped up high, squeezing in between Johnson and the Penske cars of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch.
Just as Johnson tried to block him, Tony Stewart slid onto Gordon’s bumper and gave him a huge push into the lead. Gordon led just one lap – the last one – to complete a season sweep at Talladega.
UAW Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.
Lap length: 2.66 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (34) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 188 laps, 143.438 mph.,$246,036. 2. (19) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 188, $216,461. 3. (2) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 188, $180,783. 4. (18) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 188, $140,975. 5. (16) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 188, $149,025.
6. (29) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 188, $114,325. 7. (41) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 188, $127,933. 8. (11) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 188, $134,736. 9. (14) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 188, $96,425. 10. (28) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 188, $114,358.
11. (23) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 188, $92,625. 12. (39) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, 188, $98,750. 13. (32) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 188, $103,383. 14. (31) Carl Edwards, Ford, 188, $89,325. 15. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 188, $115,925.
16. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 188, $121,891. 17. (33) David Stremme, Dodge, 188, $78,050. 18. (17) J.J.Yeley, Chevrolet, 188, $105,658. 19. (15) Mike Wallace, Ford, 188, $108,408. 20. (37) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 188, $125,236.
21. (6) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, 188, $73,325. 22. (5) David Reutimann, Toyota, accident, $88,233. 23. (20) Greg Biffle, Ford, accident, $92,150. 24. (10) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, accident, $94,120. 25. (1) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, accident, $88,722.
26. (25) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 171, $120,066. 27. (27) David Gilliland, Ford, 167, $102,239. 28. (12) Kyle Petty, Dodge, accident, $74,775. 29. (24) Robby Gordon, Ford, 161, $74,625. 30. (38) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, engine, 156, $82,450.
31. (40) Ken Schrader, Ford, accident, 152, $90,514. 32. (4) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 149, $71,375. 33. (7) John Andretti, Dodge, 149, $71,925. 34. (42) David Ragan, Ford, accident, $106,625. 35. (8) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, accident, 144, $107,561.
36. (36) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, accident, 144, $88,475. 37. (35) Jamie McMurray, Ford, accident, 144, $78,350. 38. (30) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, accident, 144, $70,225. 39. (3) Brian Vickers, Toyota, accident, 144, $70,500. 40. (26) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, engine, 136, $120,768.
41. (43) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, accident, 136, $69,810. 42. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, engine, 113, $96,025. 43. (21) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, engine, 91, $109,840.
Race statistics
Time of race: 3 hours, 29 minutes, 11 seconds.
Margin of victory: 0.066 seconds.
Caution flags: Nine for 36 laps.
Lead changes: 42 among 22 drivers.
Lap leaders: D.Blaney 1; B.Labonte 2; B.Vickers 3; M.Waltrip 4;B.Labonte 5; R.Gordon 6-8; B.Vickers 9-11; D.Hamlin 12-18; K.Petty 19; J.Johnson 20; D.Hamlin 21-24; E.Sadler 25-26; D.Hamlin 27-29; M.Truex Jr. 30; D.Earnhardt Jr.31-58; Ky.Busch 59; B.Vickers 60; M.Waltrip 61; J.Green 62; D.Hamlin 63-87; M.Waltrip 88; D.Reutimann 89-90; D.Earnhardt Jr. 91-93; D.Stremme 94; M.Waltrip 95-97; D.Hamlin 98; T.Stewart 99-108; E.Sadler 109-113; C.Bowyer 114; E.Sadler 115-132; B.Labonte 133; T.Stewart 134; B.Vickers 135-137; K.Harvick 138; J.Sauter 139-140; T.Stewart 141-145; T.Raines 146-150; R.Newman 151-152; T.Stewart 153-174; R.Newman 175-182; J.Johnson 183-187; J.Gordon 188.
Leaders summary (driver, times lead, laps led): D.Hamlin, 5 times for 40 laps; T.Stewart, 4 times for 38 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr.,2 times for 31 laps; E.Sadler, 3 times for 25 laps; R.Newman, 2 times for 10 laps; B.Vickers, 4 times for 8 laps; J.Johnson, 2 times for 6 laps; M.Waltrip, 4 times for 6 laps; T.Raines, 1 time for 5 laps; R.Gordon, 1 time for 3 laps; B.Labonte, 3 times for 3 laps; D.Reutimann, 1 time for 2 laps; J.Sauter, 1 time for 2 laps;J.Green, 1 time for 1 lap; C.Bowyer, 1 time for 1 lap; M.Truex Jr.,1 time for 1 lap; D.Blaney, 1 time for 1 lap; D.Stremme, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Gordon, 1 time for 1 lap; K.Harvick, 1 time for 1 lap;Ky.Busch, 1 time for 1 lap; K.Petty, 1 time for 1 lap.
