Robby Gordon's crew works to extingush a fire in the team's pit. Credit: AP

R. Gordon experiences more hard luck at Indy

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Another trip to Indianapolis, another frustrating day for Robby Gordon.

In his quixotic efforts to win a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gordon once again saw his hopes dashed late in the going, leaving him wondering what might have been.

BRICKYARD 400 Domination Gordon gets his fourth Brickyard 400 win Final Laps Jeff Gordon holds off Dale Jarrett in a two-lap sprint to the checkers Point leader blues Jimmie Johnson's engine expires on Lap 88 Restart wreck Several cars sustain heavy damage in a wreck on Lap 73 Spin cycle Stewart and Johnson spin in traffic but avoid getting hit Early exit Leffler hits the wall in the early laps •   Results •   Standings •   Chase for the Nextel Cup "Bubble" Standings

"It's not working," Gordon said. "Whatever we got to do, we've got to change something different about it."

Steadily moving up from his 20th starting position, Gordon passed Elliott Sadler for third on Lap 106 and began pulling closer and closer to leader Jeff Gordon and second-place Matt Kenseth.

But as has happened several times before at the Speedway, Robby's Brickyard 400 hopes went flat -- as in a flat left front tire on Lap 125 -- and then up in smoke -- when the brakes caught fire as he tried to keep the No. 31 Chevrolet on the lead lap before pitting.

As the car came to a stop in the pit stall, Gordon's crew attempted to extinguish the fire several times with retardant, but not before creating a huge plume of white smoke.

With a new tire and another 65-second stop on pit road, Gordon returned to the race in 30th place.

Then on Lap 143, Gordon experienced more troubles with his brakes, having to pit for more than a minute and a half in an effort to repair the problem.

Despite having no left front brakes and only 25 percent of normal braking power, he was able to recover to finish 22nd, but it wasn't the result for which he was hoping.

"The key is, we're fast," he said. "We had a shot at winning and that's the key. We'll be back next year."

Gordon's no stranger to heartbreak at Indianapolis. Gordon has led four of the 10 Indianapolis 500s in which he has competed. And in four previous Brickyard 400s, his best finish was a sixth in 2003.

But it's the Indy 500 which has been Gordon's biggest jinx.

In 1997, his car caught fire and he bailed out after 19 laps, rolling on the infield grass in an attempt to extinguish the flames. In 1999, he was leading with two laps to go when he ran out of fuel, handing the victory to Kenny Brack.

In 2001, Gordon was in contention for the victory, having led 22 laps, when his engine let go on lap 184. And this May, Gordon felt he had a car capable of giving him his first Indy 500 victory, only to have to get out of the car after a handful of laps because rain delayed the start of the race and he had to be in Charlotte in time for the start of the Coca-Cola 600.