Gordon Ends Slump and Ties Earnhardt

[Woodmonkey]

Gordon Ends Slump and Ties Earnhardt


AVONDALE, Ariz., April 21 — Jeff Gordon stopped his No. 24 Chevrolet at the start-finish line at Phoenix International Raceway and was handed a Dale Earnhardt No. 3 flag to wave to the crowd. It was a victory-lap celebration for Gordon after he won the Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Saturday night. And this time, a checkered flag would not do.

This was career victory No. 76 for Gordon, tying Earnhardt for sixth place on the career victory list for Nascar’s premier series. Richard Petty is the leader with 200 wins.

“It means the world,” Gordon said. “Holding that 3 flag, it’s certainly by no means saying I’m as good or we’re as good or anything close. Tell you what, to honor him in that way, it really means a lot to me. I learned so much from him. To even come close to anything he’s ever done in this sport is amazing to me. We wanted to honor him. We’ve been holding onto that flag for a long time.”

Indeed, Gordon had not won a Nextel Cup race since July 9, 2006, a stretch of 25 races before he finally tied Earnhardt, a seven-time series champion.

It was the third race of the season featuring the Nascar-designed Car of Tomorrow, which is supposed to improve safety, control costs and provide for better racing. And it was the third victory for Hendrick Motorsports in this racecar. Kyle Busch won in the car’s debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, and Jimmie Johnson collected a victory at Martinsville on April 1.

Gordon needed a little bit of luck to pull this one off, though. This was Tony Stewart’s race for most of the night. He led 132 laps and appeared on his way to victory lane before a late crash brought out a yellow flag with a little less than 30 laps to go. Gordon was in a fortunate spot on pit road when the wreck occurred. He was able to pit and remain on the lead lap. That allowed him to move to the front of the field when the top cars pitted during the ensuing caution period.

“That worked out really nice,” Gordon told his crew chief, Steve Letarte, over the scanner when the racecars cycled around and he had the lead over Stewart.

But Stewart would not let it go at that. He split between Gordon and the lapped car of Martin Truex to take the lead with 14 laps to go. But a lap later, Gordon went low and passed Stewart. This time, Stewart could not answer. He wound up second, with Denny Hamlin third.

Stewart, as volatile as he is successful, declined all interview requests after the race. It was a frustrating finish for the second week in a row, although for a different reason. Stewart struggled at Texas Motor Speedway a week ago and, after finishing 25th, declared he was “ready to retire.”

At Phoenix, Stewart had taken the lead from Kevin Harvick on Lap 155 right before the midway point of the race and dominated for most of the second half of the race before a wreck among Dave Blaney, Carl Edwards and J. J. Yeley changed everything.

Harvick spent 52 laps in the lead, a familiar spot for the No. 29 Chevrolet. Harvick won both races at Phoenix last season, marking the return of Richard Childress Racing to the upper echelon of the Nextel Cup series. Harvick and his teammate Jeff Burton made the playoff chase last season, the first time the race team contended for the championship since Earnhardt was driving the No. 3 for Childress.

Gordon and Hamlin had taken turns leading through the first portion of the race. Gordon started on the pole and stayed out front for 28 laps before Hamlin, who started third, moved up to pass. Hamlin had complained about the Car of Tomorrow going into the race, saying it would be hard to move the boxier model past other cars. That problem worked in his favor once he took the lead. Hamlin held that spot for 72 laps and was pulling away from the pack when a caution came out for debris on Lap 99. Hamlin was penalized for speeding onto pit road and sent to the back of the pack at 31st as Harvick took over the lead.

Hamlin finally made his way back among the leaders with less than 20 laps to go. Hamlin’s comeback was yet another sign that his rookie year in 2006 was no fluke. Hamlin won two races, qualified for the 10-race playoff and finished third over all in the points race as the top driver for Joe Gibbs Racing — ahead of Stewart, who was 11th in 2006.

But it was little consolation for Hamlin, who was furious with the penalty.

The Source

[BloodThirstyWench]

Wish Gordon would go back into his slump!!

[AT3Weins]

Originally Posted by BloodThirstyWench

Wish Gordon would go back into his slump!!

Ditto and take JJ with him