Fortunately for Jeff Gordon, his Chase hopes didn't go RIP after RIR. Credit: Autostock

Gordon ready to move on after getting by at RIR

RICHMOND, Va. -- For Jeff Gordon, Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 wasn't necessarily about finishing well. It was about finishing well enough to get in, and that's what Gordon did.

Though he battled brake problems and handling problems and all the other things that make a driver's life miserable, Gordon brought his No. 24 Chevrolet home 31st. Ordinarily, that would be a bad thing, but Gordon wound up ninth in the points, two markers ahead of 10th-place Kasey Kahne.

Chase for the Nextel Cup Official Standings Pos. Driver Behind 1. Matt Kenseth Leader 2. Jimmie Johnson -5 3. Kevin Harvick -10 4. Kyle Busch -15 5. Denny Hamlin -20 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -25 7. Mark Martin -30 8. Jeff Burton -35 9. Jeff Gordon -40 10. Kasey Kahne -45 • Complete standings, click here Mixed resultsJ. Gordon secures Chase spot despite 31st place finish at RIR Just barelyJeff Gordon on slipping almost out of the Chase Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 SUPERSTORE •   Jeff Gordon Chase cap!

"The thing that has me smiling right now is that we're in it," Gordon said after the race. "We know what it feels like to not be in it from last year."

Now that he and his team are in it, however, there's plenty of reason to look at a fifth title, especially since Gordon and the ageless Mark Martin are the only drivers among the Chasers whose point advantages over the next position actually increase when the Chase points are put in place.

"We've had to fight hard all year long, and we've really come together as a team," Gordon said. "[Saturday night] wasn't really a showing of that. It was a long night for us."

Gordon started out just fine -- running in the top 10 for the first 100 laps after starting third. After that, it was a gauntlet of what would go wrong next.

"We had two problems," Gordon said. "The handling was one. We tried about five different combinations here the last five races we've been here, and none of them have worked.

"Then we had a brake issue there at the end."

Gordon said the pedal didn't feel right, that he felt a grinding in the brakes and the steering wheel, and the worry ratio ratcheted through the roof.

"I felt a little grinding in the pedal and the wheel and I wasn't sure we were going to make it to the end," he said. "I couldn't keep cars from passing me and it's a very helpless feeling when you're in that situation.

	Jeff Gordon could have much more to celebrate come Homestead. Credit: Autostock
	HE'S IN ... HE'LL WIN NASCAR.COM's David Newton says Jeff Gordon's experience and success at the upcoming Chase tracks makes him a favorite to win his fifth Cup title.  •   Complete story, click here

"They're going by you left and right and you're just holding on, hoping that you've got enough to make it to the end."

Gordon said it was a tough absence last year, but also that missing the Chase made this year's effort possible.

"It was a tremendous amount of pressure for us [last year] because we were on the outside looking in for several weeks leading to this race," Gordon said. "It was just a constant burden and it was tough. It only made it tougher when we didn't make it.

"But at the same time, it was somewhat of a relief to just start focusing on next year. I really believe those 10 [Chase] races last year are what turned this team around to get us in this year."

Gordon said he sympathized with defending series champ Tony Stewart, who found himself on the outside looking in Saturday night.

"You don't think Tony Stewart's not going to be in it," Gordon said, unconsciously echoing what was said about him last year. "He's one of the guys that I would have thought would definitely be in there."