Jeff Gordon failed to lead a lap Sunday at Kansas. Credit: Autostock

Gordon's good fortune runs out at Kansas

Two-time winner there struggles for 13th-place finish

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A 13th-place finish Sunday at Kansas Speedway doesn't sound too bad for Jeff Gordon, especially after he was saddled with a 30th-place starting spot.

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But, in actuality, there was little good for Gordon, especially when you consider he was victorious in two of the past three Nextel Cup events there.

Gordon entered Kansas looking to eliminate a 48-point deficit to leader Kurt Busch in the Nextel Cup standings. After all, Busch has a checkered history on tracks like Kansas and its sister track, Chicagoland.

Instead, Busch blazed to a sixth-place finish while getting five bonus points for leading a lap.

Gordon failed to lead a lap and fell to 79 points behind Busch with just six races to go.

"Right now, things have not been going as good for us and we need them to win the championship," said Gordon, who is chasing his first title since 2001. "I don't feel we have really lived up to our full potential. I hope we start hitting on it real soon."

Two things hurt Gordon: He qualified 30th on Friday and had to rally after his crew left a wrench on his car during the second caution. That mistake cost him a lap, but a good break on Lap 152 saved his day.

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Gordon got his lap back with a three-wide move on Lap 150 and got to catch up to the field on Lap 152 when the caution came out again.

Gordon pitted on Lap 198 to take on four tires, but it didn't help much, because his Chevrolet simply refused to handle well.

"We just could never get a handle on things all weekend," Gordon said. "The car just never gave me the feel I was looking for.

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Still, Gordon had a shot at a top-10. He even got to as high as eighth after several teams were forced to come in for gas. But he said Ricky Rudd's slide through the grass killed his drive, because the field slowed up behind Rudd's Ford.

"When Ricky got sideways going into Turn 1, it slowed us all down and all those guys with fresh tires had the momentum," Gordon said. Once they caught us, we were in trouble."