 | | Jeff Gordon jumped to sixth in the standings after Michigan. Credit: Autostock |
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
August 21, 2006
01:23 PM EDT (17:23 GMT)
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It was almost deja vu for Jeff Gordon: running second to Matt Kenseth and making up ground as the laps wound down.  |  | | Jeff Gordon made the final restart outside of the top 10. Credit: Autostock |
| |
| GFS Marketplace 400 |
| Results |
| Pos. |
Driver |
Make |
| 1. |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
| 2. |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevy |
| 3. |
Tony Stewart |
Chevy |
| 4. |
Kasey Kahne |
Dodge |
| 5. |
Mark Martin |
Ford |
| 6. |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevy |
| 7. |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
| 8. |
Reed Sorenson |
Dodge |
| 9. |
Denny Hamlin |
Chevy |
| 10. |
Elliott Sadler |
Dodge |
|
 |
However, unlike Chicagoland six weeks earlier, Gordon wasn't going to bull his way to the front this time. Or at least that's what he told the media after Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway. "It was fun running Matt down there and battling up front," Gordon said. "I wish we had a few more laps but that's probably a good make-up for what happened at Chicago. "I would have liked to have gotten up there and shown I could pass him clean and race him clean, because I like racing with Matt." He never got the chance, as Kenseth kept a comfortable margin, winning by .622 seconds. Still, Gordon had to be satisfied with second, especially after struggling when stuck in traffic, which happened when the No. 24 Chevrolet got out of pit sequence with the majority of the field. "We were up there battling with Carl Edwards early in the race and having a lot of fun," Gordon said. "I thought we had a good car when we were in clean air but when we got in traffic, we got out of sequence that one time and man, we just struggled with it." It wasn't until crew chief Steve Letarte gambled on a tire-pressure adjustment that Gordon was able to climb back to the front. "We put four tires on a couple of times and tried to make some adjustments and it never worked," Gordon said. "There at the end, Steve made some air-pressure adjustments and pretty big swings at it and man, the car just came to life. "I think we started 12th or 13th [on the last restart] and we were able to finally pass and make some moves." Gordon passed Tony Stewart for third and Clint Bowyer for second on Lap 178, but Kenseth proved to be too far in front with too little time left, after getting off pit road third overall on the final stop -- and first of the cars which took four tires. "Matt's smooth and he knows how to take care of his stuff," Gordon said. "That car was working really well out front. That track position paid off big-time for him. "It worked for us earlier in the day, but we just seemed to lose a little bit there at the end. A few more laps and we might have had him. Still, it was a good day for both of us." At the end of the day, Gordon said, it's all about the "big picture." "We're in such a tight battle that every lap, every position is so important," said Gordon, who moved up three positions to sixth in the standings. "I fought so hard [Sunday] to lead a lap and get those five points. "We go to every race fighting as hard as we can to get the best finish that we possibly can. You do that every weekend whether you're battling for points or not battling for points." Gordon expressed regret for the way he won at Chicagoland, when he bumped Kenseth from behind, sending the No. 17 into a spin and fans into a garbage-throwing frenzy. "I hated that I got into him," Gordon reiterated Sunday. "I didn't just drive down in there and intentionally spin him, as much as he might think differently about that. "I like racing guys clean and hard for a win and it's always more rewarding to know you passed a guy by racing him hard and not by just taking him out. That was the only thing that was on my mind is that I would have liked to have gone up there and race with him again and done it a little bit cleaner this time." | 
