Off-sequence pitting didn't help Gordon at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- It was evident early on in Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway that Steve Letarte, crew chief for Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet, was going to have to take some gambles to have any chance of keeping red-hot Jimmie Johnson in his sights.

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed, bringing out the caution flag on Lap 120, Letarte decided to roll the dice. While many of the lead-lap cars stayed on the track, Letarte brought Gordon down for service -- giving up track position but putting the No. 24 out of sequence with the majority of the field.

"About halfway through the race, it was pretty crystal clear that the car wasn't going to be good enough to run in the top two or three," Letarte said. "I'm going to go down with a fight. I'm not [gonna] lay over and just finish 10th on my own. That's where we ended up but the pit stops were phenomenal. The guys never stopped fighting.

"It became evident that the only chance we had was to get out of sequence and get a lucky finish out of it. And you can get lucky only so long."

The strategy was a longshot, Letarte admitted. In order for it to work, the rest of the field would have had to pit under green, giving Gordon a chance to trap them with a yellow flag before he needed more service.

"We were going to have to have the miraculous caution," Letarte said. "It needed to go green on those guys and get some of them a lap down. That was the only chance we had."

It didn't work. Gordon was mired in mid-pack traffic for much of the rest of the race, finishing 10th. And coupled with Johnson's fourth consecutive victory, Gordon's chances at a fifth championship are hanging by a thread.

"Three of the last four races, they've absolutely had the best car," Letarte said of his Hendrick rivals. "That's the reason they've won. At Atlanta, they just made the best pit call and got a little lucky at the end, but we've had our fair share of good luck all year long.

"We really can't complain. We've had the average finish that we thought we needed to win a championship, but it's just not been good enough."

Letarte said he went all-out this weekend in an effort to cut into Johnson's 30-point lead, but failed.

"I had a different plan," he said. "We came in here very aggressive with the setup, trying to win. And we still didn't get the results we wanted. I think we just need to get a little luckier, maybe. Give him some better cars. That's what it's coming down to, we just haven't had the cars we needed in the final 10."

Letarte said the No. 24 team is disappointed but not beaten.

"That's what makes it so hard," Letarte said. "We just haven't stepped up here at the end like the 48. They've been untouchable. We can finish second to them every week and we'd still end up getting beat. It's disappointing but at the same time, we're not going to hang our heads. I think we have 29 top-10s, six wins. It's been a great year. It's just not been a championship year.

"I'm going to take the positives out of it. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. But I'm 28. I have a lot of years ahead of me. Hopefully we have another good one next year."

Letarte said, in his opinion, there's just one thing separating the two teams at this point in the season -- but it's a critical one.

"You can make all the excuses you want," Letarte said. "We had great pit stops. The driver drove all day. I think I called a decent race. We just flat didn't have a good enough car."