SONOMA, Calif. -- All Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson can do now is wait.

They sat out practice and qualifying on Friday, started at the rear of the field on Sunday, and tried to salvage something positive out of a weekend marred by technical violations found on their respective racecars. The Hendrick Motorsports teammates left Infineon Raceway hoping for some leniency from NASCAR -- but not really expecting it.

"To me, what happened on Friday was huge. It had a trickle effect throughout this entire garage area," Gordon said after rallying to finish seventh. (watch video) "Everybody's eyes are wide open, going, 'Wow, I can't believe they're coming down that hard on this type of infraction.' I think all of us are blown away. We don't know what's coming next. We're at the mercy of NASCAR. I hope they take it light on us, but who knows."

In initial inspection Friday, NASCAR officials discovered a 10-inch piece of front fender on each of the Hendrick cars had been modified illegally. They weren't allowed on the racetrack until Saturday, after the vehicles had passed a second round of inspection. Given the harsh stance NASCAR has taken on Car of Tomorrow violators -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost 100 points, and his crew chief was fined $100,000 and suspended six weeks for mounting rear-wing brackets illegally at Darlington -- tougher punishment almost certainly looms ahead.

"I have no idea as far as what to expect," Johnson said Sunday after coming home 17th. "We'll just see what happens and what next week holds. We'll just have to see what happens. It's really out of our hands. It's been out of our hands the last couple of days, and we'll just have to wait and see what NASCAR does on Tuesday."

That's the day NASCAR traditionally announces penalties for technical infractions. Gordon and Johnson face point penalties, crew chiefs Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus possible suspensions and fines. But Gordon hopes the hardship he and Johnson have already endured -- not being able to post a qualifying time, and starting at the back on a road course where no one had rallied from further than 13th to win until Juan Montoya did it Sunday -- is punishment enough.

"I think the punishment on Friday fit the crime," he said. "I think anything more than that is going to be extremely disappointing, and really kind of a jaw-dropper. But hey, I've seen crazy things happen this year. I'm not wishing or expecting anything less than anyone else."

'Gray' matter

Team owner Rick Hendrick said his teams did not bend any specific rules at Sonoma and what NASCAR considers COT violations remains unclear.

• Complete story, click here
• 24, 48 fail COT inspection
• Video: McReynolds, Snider

Gordon started the event 41st and Johnson 42nd, just ahead of final speed qualifier P.J. Jones. Both drivers used pit strategy to gain track position, and gradually work their way toward the front. Johnson led one lap during an extended green-flag pit sequence, and Gordon ran as high as third by the 40-lap mark. (Lap-by-Lap)

But neither could stay up front for very long. Employing a pit strategy that sometimes used no-tire stops, the Hendrick drivers often stayed in contention only as long as their rubber held out.

"We had to really work hard to get up through the pack and be creative with strategy," Johnson said. "The strategy worked, but didn't work as good as we thought it was going to."

Gordon managed to hold on a little longer than his teammate, and received a ray of hope over the radio when Letarte informed him that several of the top contenders might run short on fuel. But lapped traffic prevented the No. 24 car from making up any further ground.

"When Steve was telling me that the guys could run out of fuel ahead of us, I thought we had a shot at winning it or being in the top five," Gordon said. "We came close. But it really started giving up. I caught some lapped traffic. They were tough on me, as I expected them to be. I just didn't have the tires to pass those guys."

Gordon's finish was good enough to preserve a 271-point lead on Denny Hamlin in the Nextel Cup standings, an advantage he stands to lose a good chunk of by penalty this week. But given the track time that he lost, he seemed content with the result.

"It was a huge impact," he said of missing practice and qualifying Friday. "I mean, my gosh, at this place it's near impossible to come from that far back. You know, Steve made some great calls. The cautions fell when we needed them to, we picked up some spots, and we worked hard. We did everything we possibly could to get the best finish, and I think seventh is a great finish."