Gordon Takes Talladega Victory
Jeff Gordon made a last-lap pass on his teammate Jimmie Johnson in Sunday’s UAW Ford 500 to score his fifth win of the season.
Johnson, followed by Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears, had gained the lead from Ryan Newman during lap 182 of the 188-lap race. Mears lost the third spot, but Johnson and Jeff Gordon continued to lead a line of cars on the low side of the track for the next four laps.
As the cars were heading down the backstretch, Jeff Gordon shot up, right in front of Tony Stewart’s No. 20, who was running the high groove. Tony Stewart gave Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 a boost, and that was all the momentum he needed to get by Johnson for the lead. Ironically, the final lap was the only lap Jeff Gordon led all day.
“I thought I was stuck there, but when it got three wide, I knew that was my opportunity,” said Jeff Gordon. “When I got high, Jimmie tried to block me, but luckily, the 20 (Tony Stewart) was there, and he drilled me. He was the one that pushed me to the front.”
Johnson lost the points lead and trails Jeff Gordon by nine points with six races remaining.
“I was doing all I could on the bottom to defend that line,” said Johnson. “There was more going on behind me than I could see. The 20 car was coming. He had a big run, and Jeff moved up in front of him.”
The “big one” that most fans have come to expect at Talladega came on lap 145. Bobby Labonte’s No. 43 broke loose and shot across the track in front of Kyle Busch. Before everyone was able to get stopped, 11 cars had varying degrees of damage to them.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running well until the engine in his No. 8 let go with 51 laps to go.
“We had a good car and I’m proud of my team,” he said. “Obviously we’ve got some gremlins that we need to get rid of, but I’m glad I could get the fans excited. I just wish I could have been here at the end. I really feel sorry for Martin.”
Earnhardt was referring to his teammate Martin Truex Jr., one of the Chase drivers, who also lost an engine.
Finishing order: 1. Jeff Gordon, 2. Jimmie Johnson, 3. Dave Blaney, 4. Denny Hamlin, 5. Ryan Newman, 6. Casey Mears, 7. Kurt Busch, 8. Tony Stewart, 9. Tony Raines, 10. Reed Sorenson, 11. Clint Bowyer, 12. Johnny Sauter, 13. Jeff Green, 14. Carl Edwards, 15. Juan Montoya, 16. Kasey Kahne, 17. David Stremme, 18. J.J. Yeley, 19. Mike Wallace, 20. Kevin Harvick, 21. Jacques Villeneuve, 22. David Reutimann, 23. Greg Biffle, 24. Elliott Sadler, 25. Michael Waltrip, 26. Matt Kenseth, 27. David Gilliland, 28. Kyle Petty, 29. Robby Gordon, 30. Aric Almirola, 31. Ken Schrader, 32. Joe Nemechek, 33. John Andretti, 34. David Ragan, 35. Bobby Labonte, 36. Kyle Busch, 37. Jamie McMurray, 38. Paul Menard, 39. Brian Vickers, 40. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 41. Dale Jarrett, 42. Martin Truex Jr., 43. Jeff Burton.
Top 12 Chase leaders after 4 of 10: 1. Jeff Gordon-5,690, 2. Johnson-5,681, 3. Bowyer-5,627, 4. Tony Stewart-5,536, 5. Edwards-5,490, 6. Harvick-5,488, 7. Kurt Busch-5,480, 8. Kyle Busch-5,430, 9. Denny Hamlin-5,423, 10. Truex-5,390, 11. Matt Kenseth-5,377, 12. Jeff Burton-5,359.
New Busch Series Sponsor
NASCAR announced that Nationwide Insurance will become the new title sponsor of the NASCAR Busch Series in 2008. Nationwide will pay an estimated $12 million per season for a multiyear deal, slightly more than Anheuser-Busch was paying.
Weekend Racing Schedule
The Busch and Cup teams will be at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., while the Craftsman Trucks have an off weekend.
Friday, Oct. 12
Busch Series Dollar General 300, race 31 of 35, Starting time: 7:30 p.m. (EST); TV: ESPN2; Distance: 200 laps; Defending champion: Dave Blaney.
Saturday, Oct. 13
Nextel Cup Bank of America 500, race 31 of 36, Starting time: 7 p.m. (EST); TV: ABC; Distance: 334 laps; Defending champion: Kasey Kahne.
Racing Trivia Question: Which team will Kyle Busch drive for in 2008?
Last Week’s Question: How many years has Denny Hamlin driven in the Nextel Cup?
Answer: This is his second year.
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