GORDON FINALE DISAPPOINTING
Wreck forces driver to lower sights from win to points
Staring over a clutch of reporters in his garage stall Sunday, Jeff Gordon stared at a video board perched above Gasoline Alley. Even though he had won the Brickyard 400 a record five times, Gordon had experienced enough tough afternoons at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to not expect a storybook ending. Even when so many in attendance so very much wanted one.
Gordon, 43, had a chance to break a tie with Formula One great Michael Schumacher for the wins record at the 106-yearold track. That this is his 24th and final full-time Sprint Cup season simply heightened the anticipation of such for Gordon. He had challenges, for sure, after qualifying 19th at a 2.5-mile track where passing before and during the implementation of new aerodynamics changes was a labor. Ultimately, the prospects for a favorable ending were over by lap 49 of 160 for the popular former champion who grew up in nearby Pittsboro and drove the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 in May.
Laps fell away as Gordon waited, arms crossed, while engine noise reverberated through the garage. His crew still manically hammered, taped, sawed and welded to mend his mangled No. 24 Chevrolet after it had struck the wall as Gordon was swerving to avoid Clint Bowyer.
With each pass, Gordon’s story of the day ceded to the broader story of his last bid for a fifth championship. And the importance of doing so had quickly overwhelmed any nostalgic ache Gordon might have felt about this race, no matter how much it mattered to him and his fans.
“Right now I’m not thinking about this being my last Brickyard 400,” Gordon said after finishing 42nd, 54 laps down, his worst result in 22 attempts at the race in his adopted home state. “I’m not thinking about anything other than the race and the points and the rest of the season. We have a lot of racing still left to go. I think next year, when I am watching this race and I am not in the driver’s seat, then I probably will reflect more on it and think about that. But right now that is not really on my mind.”
Gordon, the defending race winner, was working in a line of cars near Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne along the back stretch when Bowyer lost control of the No. 15 Toyota, sliding down the track and impeding his path. Gordon slid hard into the outside wall, crunching the left front and rear after he braked hard to avoid Bowyer.
Gordon pitted multiple times to allow his crew to diagnose the damage as the field circled under caution. He retook the track on a lap 54 restart in 42nd position, four laps down. Ineffective and slow, he was forced to the garage on lap 66.
Crewmen toiled as Gordon stood by, watching expectantly, at one point cracking a smile after being shown something on a video device. He returned on lap 119, angling on 41st-place Alex Bowman, who was 12 laps ahead but out of the race, and 42ndplace Timmy Hill, who was still running, as he tried to recoup as many points as possible.
“I’ve won this thing five times,” he said afterward. “I can’t be too greedy or too disappointed. It’s been an amazing career here.”
So it was even easier and more sensible to refocus. Gordon entered the race winless but within the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup field because his points standing, 10th, was sufficient to transfer. Wins virtually assure entry into the 10-race playoff, and Gordon can’t afford to let any points elude him until he reaches victory lane.
Crew chief Alan Gustafson said before the race that the team felt secure in its point position but noted how much a victory could create momentum with six races left in the regular season. Gordon has won multiple races at each of the tracks remaining before the Chase begins, including seven at Darlington Raceway and six at Pocono Raceway, site of the race where Gordon attempts to regain his footing next weekend.
Gordon maintained possession of the 13th Chase position Sunday, but his buffer to the final transfer spot was reduced from 43 to 17 points.
“We work hard for every position in points we can get, and it wasn’t the day we were hoping for. But it doesn’t mean you give up,” Gordon said. “I think we made one position up, but you never know when that’s going to be needed.”
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