 | | Jeff Gordon: "We didn't gain a lot of points today, but we didn't lose a lot and we could've." Credit: CIA Stock Photo |
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
October 18, 2004
11:15 AM EDT (15:15 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Typical racing logic asserts it shouldn't have happened this way. Typical racing logic says Jeff Gordon should have limped home several laps down with a mangled racecar.  |  | UAW-GM Quality 500 | |
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When a guy wrecks on the first lap, has to pit more than once to repair the resulting sheet metal damage, then spins again and gets plowed by another competitor, what are the chances he'll even finish on the lead lap, much less contend for a decent finish and nearly win? "I'd never have guessed we'd have been sitting here," Gordon said. "That was an amazing comeback. I'd have bet a million dollars we wouldn't be sitting here." Gordon's evening began terribly. With the rest of the field, he was coursing into Turn 1 on the very first lap when Scott Riggs missed a shift in the No. 10 Chevrolet, injuring his engine. The field stacked up behind Riggs, collecting Gordon. The DuPont Chevrolet suffered cosmetic damage, forcing Gordon to pit more than once to correct it. He restarted 35th, still on the lead lap, but struggled with a loose-handling racecar until he eventually spun out exiting Turn 4 on Lap 75 while running in 30th position. As he spun into the low groove, Rusty Wallace's Dodge plowed into his left rear quarter panel. "I came off (Turn) 4 and locked up the brakes trying to stay off the wall," Gordon said. "Everything seemed to be okay, and right there at the end, boom! I thought 'Okay, that's it. Our night is over.'" Not so. He was a lap down, but continued to surge through the field to 16th position when the caution flew on lap 210 for debris. Gordon was the "Lucky Dog," the first car a lap down, meaning he was back on the lead lap. |  | | Credit: Autostock |
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Fifty-eight laps later, the dominant Kasey Kahne blew a right front tire and hit the wall, ending his night and giving hope to the other frontrunners. Gordon continued to work his way through the field. With 22 to go Jimmy Spencer got together with Brendan Gaughan and collected championship chasers Mark Martin and Ryan Newman. Both were ahead of Gordon. Gordon came out third on the ensuing pit stop, behind Joe Nemechek, who took two tires, and teammate Jimmie Johnson. He hounded Johnson for several laps before Johnson pulled away to victory. Gordon finished second, which was fine by him and his car owner. "It was an unbelievable night for (Gordon's) team," car owner Rick Hendrick said. "With all the spins and wrecks and adversity. To see that car come back, that's a championship effort by that crowd." Gordon concurred. | | CHASE FOR THE NEXTEL CUP | |
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"This is unbelievable," he said. "That's why this team is so incredible. That's the first 1-2 (finish) me and Jimmie have had where we really had to battle. It was just an incredible effort. We didn't gain a lot of points today, but we didn't lose a lot and we could've." As it stands, Gordon remains third in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, 74 points behind leader Kurt Busch. He trails second place Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 24 points heading to Martinsville, one of his best tracks. "That's what we really accomplished here today," Gordon said. "When that race was over my guys had the biggest smiles on their faces. They couldn't have been happier. "This is a huge confidence booster. We've been down the past few weeks. Things have been going our way. We needed a top five, we needed to get up there and battle like that. "Doing it like we did today was even better for us. Taking that momentum into Martinsville, that shot in the arm will do a lot for us going into next weekend." | 
