Gordon salvages sixth after concrete collision

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MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Ask most anyone in the Advance Auto Parts 500 field and they'll tell you Jeff Gordon had the best car. Until he hit a boulder.

Gordon led 180 of the race's first 272 laps, and was running second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 290 when he entered Turn 3 and hit a chunk of concrete that had dislodged from the track surface.

"It's very unfortunate that the race track came apart," Gordon said. "It definitely took any chance we had of winning away. Our day would have had to gone absolutely perfect to get back up there."

	Gordon was left without a top-five finish for the seventh time in eight races. Credit: Autostock

With the right front of his Chevrolet crumpled, Gordon was forced to wait out a red flag while NASCAR and track officials repaired the 12-inch wide, two-inch deep crater. When the race resumed an hour and 17 minutes later, he pitted to repair the situation.

He restarted 21st, but quickly served notice that the DuPont Chevrolet was still plenty potent. Within a handful of laps he was back in the top 10 and eventually settled into a sixth-place finish.

PHOTO GALLERY  Advance Auto Parts 500

"It was a decent comeback," said Gordon, winner of three consecutive Martinsville poles and both races last season. "I got a little bit wide on that last pit stop, cost us some positions in the pits.

VIDEO CLIPS Robby Gordon has trouble with his teammate Play video Ken Schrader hits the wall Play video A hole in the track damages Jeff Gordon's car Play video Drivers discuss track conditions during the long delay Play video Final laps Play video Victory Lane Play video Hear from the top five finishers at Martinsville Play video

"We worked our way up to seventh, so if we'd gotten a good pit stop there I think we'd have been solidly in the top five, and probably top two or three. But, what can you say? That's just the way things go."

Despite his misfortune, Gordon managed to improve his standing in the championship. He entered the weekend ninth, departed seventh. Considering the circumstances, he's content. But he knows this one got away.

"The competition gets tougher along the way, so it's harder," Gordon said of his fight back to the front. "And each guy fights you so hard. The harder I had to fight the more I used up my tires.

"I think that car was still capable of winning the race if you put it up front, but to go through traffic with the damage we had, that tiny little bit we needed we just didn't have."

Following the race, Gordon was critical of the way NASCAR dealt with the situation.

"To me it's inexcusable for a race track to come apart like that. I think they should have discussed it a little bit more as to what clauses should be in place when an obstacle on the racetrack, when it's the racetrack that came apart, causes you to have damage like that.

"You can't argue it under red (flag conditions). It is what it is. They made their decision and we had to live with it, fix it and get what we could. Sixth isn't too bad."