Strategy call reflects cohesiveness of Gordon, No. 24 team

A nine-minute, 19-second red flag had cars parked on the track after 490 of 500 laps Sunday with strategy talk filling the radios just as dusk settled on Martinsville Speedway.

Gordon, second at the time to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., wanted four tires. As has been the case so often through this resurgent season, crew chief Alan Gustafson agreed.

“I really did not want to see us try not to come in,” Gordon said. “We’ve been in this position before where we stayed out and we thought it was the right call and we ended up getting wrecked in Turn 1. To me, I wanted those tires. I was glad that Alan was feeling the same way.”

Gordon would wind up finishing exactly where he sat during the red flag — second to Earnhardt — in what was yet another instance of this group making good calls late in the race.

From a critical two-tire stop at Texas Motor Speedway in April through Sunday’s collective decision, late-race strategy is one of many reasons why, with three races remaining in the 2014 season, Gordon sits atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.

It wasn’t as if it was a clear-cut call, either. Several drivers — Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer among them — opted for two tires. Tony Stewart, who was in fourth place at the time and then finished fourth, was one of three drivers to not come in at all.

For the No. 24, there was no doubt.

“When it’s open, come on,” the crew chief called once the red flag was withdrawn.

This late-race symbiosis is a trait that is both organic and learned.

“Communication is key to everything in this sport,” Gordon said on pit road after the race while Earnhardt celebrated in the background. “Alan and I are definitely on the same page right now and have been most of the year. But it’s also trial and error. Being in that position and making the wrong move and learning from it. I feel like this season has been three years in the making for us. The chemistry of the team, getting our race cars where we need to go, getting my confidence up, the pit crew … they’re on it right now, and it’s awesome.”

The 43-year-old couldn’t quite get to Earnhardt Jr. over the final laps, but stressed he absolutely would have moved the No. 88 if he could reach him.

After all, Gordon knew what was at stake. A win in the opener of the Eliminator Round would have guaranteed him one of four Chase spots for the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

His attempt at catching the No. 88 was just the final stanza of a complex Martinsville melody, one that started Friday when Gordon uncharacteristically qualified poorly — by his own standards — by earning the 13th starting spot.

In the race, he sped on pit road following a Lap 188 caution, a mistake he called “embarrassing” and one that sent him from the lead to 30th.

Then there was the side-by-side battle with Denny Hamlin over a late 100-lap span, two of the best Martinsville drivers chasing each other all over the 0.526-mile oval that set up the frenetic final moments.

“It was just a great performance,” Gordon said. “I thought we had the car to beat, and today was just about clawing our way back up there. Me and Denny had a great battle. We had a great late pit stop. And the good news is that a Chase driver did not win the race, so finishing second isn’t as big of a deal today.”

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