Gordon has another solid run despite clutch issues

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Jeff Gordon didn't win Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but he came up clutch when it counted most.

Struggling with a slipping clutch that made nearly every pit stop an adventure, Gordon thought he had a real chance to end a 44-race winless streak that dates to the fall race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2007. Instead, he had to settle for second behind Kurt Busch -- his third top-10 finish in the four races run so far this season.

Press Pass

Jeff Gordon comments on his second-place finish and more after the Kobalt Tools 500.

• Watch video

Gordon continues to pace the standings, leading Clint Bowyer by 43 points heading into the first off week of 2009.

"It's encouraging," Gordon said. "I'm a big believer in that you have to walk before you can run, and I think we've turned the corner. This team has really shown consistently in all four races this year that we're a team that can battle up front and for the win. And I believe if we keep doing that, we're going to win races. And we haven't really reached our full potential yet."

Starting 16th, Gordon made his way into the top 10 within the first 20 laps and cracked the top five by Lap 40. He was one of the few cars due to make a green-flag stop when a loose tire rolled out into the infield grass, unfortunately chased by a crew member, which brought out the caution on Lap 67.

But when Gordon pitted with the lead-lap cars on the following circuit, he got an unpleasant surprise. While the No. 24 Chevrolet was up on the jack, the transmission suddenly engaged and the car lurched forward, tearing up the side panel.

"It somehow was bleeding off or just had some air in it," Gordon said. "On the first pit stop, on four-tire stops, when you drop the right side, usually you push the clutch in and put it in first gear and get ready to leave. And halfway through changing the left side, the rear tires started turning and it climbed right off the jack. We were lucky that they finished the stop and we didn't really lose any spots, although there was a little bit of damage to the side."

The slipping clutch was an issue from that point forward, Gordon admitted.

"From that point on, I had to play around with it," he said. "It would last for maybe a second, 2 seconds before it would just start to grab, and I had it pushed all the way to the floor. I thought that it was a one-time thing until about the fourth stop, and got the same thing.

Getting closer

Jeff Gordon's winless streak is now at 45 races -- the longest of his career. He has finished in the top five 17 times in that span including four runner-up finishes. Two of his second-place finishes have come in '09.

2009 Results

Race	Finish	Led
Daytona	13	14
Fontana	2	64
Las Vegas	6	17
Atlanta	2	47

• Store: Jeff Gordon

"There at the end, I'd put it in gear just as they dropped the left side and we gave up just a blink of any eye, but at least we weren't spinning the rear tires and going off the jack or missing lug nuts. It could have been a lot worse. The guys adapted well and we didn't panic."

In fact, stellar work in the pits put Gordon in front on Lap 205, and he went on to lead the next 47 circuits. That is, until Busch started taking big chunks out of Gordon's lead with every lap, eliminating Gordon's 4-second advantage in less than a dozen laps. Still, Gordon stayed in contention, and when debris created a green-white-checkered finish, it set up one last chance.

Gordon was lined up third, behind Busch and Carl Edwards, who opted for two tires. And at the time, he thought his chances were good.

"Certainly, I would have liked to have beaten [Busch] out of the pit road, but even there in third, I thought we had a shot at him," Gordon said. "I was pretty sure we were going to get by [Edwards]."

But on the restart, Busch blocked Gordon's run on the high side, taking away much of his momentum. And then Gordon was unable to dispose of Edwards in a timely fashion, which let Busch build an insurmountable advantage.

"On the restart, I had a run on the 2 and he saw me coming and we about got in the fence there going into [Turn] 1, so I checked up behind him and we started making up momentum on the 99," Gordon said. "We got by him but I didn't quite clear him.

"I drove too deep into [Turn] 3, trying to get to the outside of the 2 and when I did, the 2 drifted up, made me wash out and the 99 got back underneath me. Once that happened, I needed to be clear of the 99 to have any shot at the 2. And so we kind of had to settle for second."

Still, Gordon could see nothing but positives, even though the next chance for victory will have to wait until Bristol, at the earliest.

"It was a great day for us, though," Gordon said. "Just driving to the front, battling up front, leading laps, battling for the lead at times. We lost a little something there in the long runs there, middle of the way on and those guys were a little bit stronger than us. But on the restarts, we were real strong.

"Of course, I want to win, and we've been close. But I'm not going to say we're frustrated. We're pretty happy, the way we've been running."