Sunoco Pit Move: Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. -- There are literally hundreds of parts on a racecar that can break and cost you a victory. Crush panels would have to be near the bottom of that list.

Unfortunately for Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 crew, a crush panel inside the right-front fender that came loose midway through Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway led to a series of events that relegated Gordon to a 12th-place finish.

"We were awesome," Gordon said. "I'm very disappointed, obviously. We had a couple of issues we'll have to work through."

Gordon, who led twice for 30 laps, was in first place when he headed for the pits under green on Lap 192 for what should have been a routine stop. However, once tire changer Clay Robinson removed the right-front tire, the loose crush panel created a situation where he couldn't quickly get the replacement on the spindle.

By the time Gordon returned to the track, he was in seventh, more than nine seconds off the lead.

The team attempted to make repairs, taping the crush panel in place when the caution flag flew on Lap 224, but that only wound up compounding the problem.

Gordon, in a failed effort to beat the pace car back to the line, was cited for speeding on pit road. So not only did the No. 24 Chevrolet lose a lap, Gordon wound up at the tail end of the longest line.

"We made little mistakes where we got a lap down in the pits," Gordon said. "That shouldn't have ever happened. We all recognize it. We make mistakes and we learn from it."

Restarting 24th, Gordon needed several cautions to gain the free pass. Unfortunately, the next yellow didn't come until Lap 271 -- and he didn't get his lap back until the final debris caution, leaving him with only 11 laps remaining.

Gordon made the most of it, going from 18th to 12th, but it wasn't the finish he wanted -- or expected.

"Well, it kept us from finishing in the top five," Gordon said. "I know we had a shot at certainly a top-three [if not for the crush panel issue] but I think we had a shot at winning.

"It doesn't matter. We came out of here 12th, got the best finish we could. We're still second in points, so in some ways we were fortunate."