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"Not only did I hit crewmembers, but it was my fault -- I made a mistake. To see guys that are on my team fly up over your hood was not a real good feeling."
Ironically, pit road situations ended competitive runs for Waltrip and Gordon, who at one point with 40 laps remaining ran 1-2-3 with Johnson.
Gordon ended the race out of fuel on pit road, one lap down to Johnson in 19th position.
"I thought we were going to be one-two and we just didn't get enough fuel in the car," Gordon said. "We just can't get anything to go our way. We're the ones making mistakes -- I made one and the other, well, we just didn't get enough fuel in the car."
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Waltrip, who led Laps 256-271, lost any chance to win when his fuel can did not disengage on his last stop, on Lap 272. He finished 26th after he received a stop-and-go penalty for carrying the can out of his pit box.
Even before the final 101-lap green flag run dictated the final results would turn on pit work, it seemed as though the initial crash might have an effect on the outcome, as all three involved cars were running in the top-five at the time.
The incident occurred under the race's first caution, for debris. Gordon tried to cut through Waltrip's pit stall when Waltrip's NAPA Chevrolet struck Gordon's DuPont Chevrolet when Waltrip turned into his stall.
According to Gordon's crew chief, Robbie Loomis, Gordon apparently did not realize Waltrip was pitting in the stall directly in front of his own, separated by an access hole to the garage area.
When they collided, Gordon's car was pinched into the first pit stall, which was already being occupied by Gordon's teammate Johnson.
Gordon struck Johnson's jackman Chris Anderson, front tire carrier Ryan McCray and front tire changer Cory Quick, who had begun their pit stop. McCray and Quick were launched up onto Gordon's windshield before they were dumped on the ground.
Quick and McCray, after the stop, were seen at the track's infield care center and released, after which they returned to pit road. Shortly after, crew chief Chad Knaus said they did a four-tire pit stop in 13.75 seconds.
"That just shows the training and the athleticism that these guys have," Knaus said. "You get a running back in football that gets hit by a 220-lb. linebacker and he's on injured reserve. This was a 3,400-lb. race car we're talking about."
Quick limped slightly as he walked to Victory Lane and said his shins were bruised and his knees were sore. He also said he and his teammates barely knew what hit them.
 | VIDEO CLIPS |  | No serious injuries as cars collide on pit road
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"I just saw an orange hood coming at me," Quick said. "I don't know what happened. We work out and practice and that's the kind of stuff that happens -- it's nobody's fault.
"That's what we're paid to do and we have fun doing it. It's just our job."
McCray, who admitted to nursing some sore ribs and a knot on his calf, concurred.
"Everything happened so fast, you don't even know what's going on," McCray said. "It was an accident and like he (Quick) said, this is what we get paid to do. It's our job, we get it done and come back next week."
All three men got up and completed Johnson's stop. Gordon was delayed until Waltrip left his pit stall. Then Gordon righted his car and pulled into his stall.
"It was so difficult to focus and regain my composure," Gordon said. "I wanted to jump out of the car and go see if they were OK. Then I saw them jump up and run around and go pit the car -- we've got some tough guys on this team and it was awesome to see them get up.
"Then, I didn't know what to do -- I didn't know whether to back up -- I saw cars going by me. I was stunned by the whole thing."
Waltrip left pit road in third position behind leader Bill Elliott. After a number of pit stops under caution, Gordon restarted 21st while Johnson was 23rd and the final car on the lead lap.
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