Polesitter led 47 laps but finished 31st in the GEICO 500
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- For the second time this season, a mistake on pit road cost Jeff Gordon an opportunity to contend for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.
Both times, the four-time series champion has shouldered the blame.
Speeding on pit road at Martinsville Speedway last month late in the STP 500 took Gordon from first to 22nd. He rallied, but came away ninth at day's end.
In Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Gordon once again was too hot coming onto pit road. And after leading 47 of the race’s first 123 laps, Gordon found himself trying to work his way back through the field.
"We did a pretty good job making some spots up and we were going to see what happened that last lap," said Gordon, who finished 31st. "Then they started wrecking -- we avoided one of them but couldn’t avoid the second one."
A six-time winner at Talladega, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was among those at the front of the pack when they headed to pit road to begin a round of green-flag stops on Lap 156.
Before the stops could cycle through, however, Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon brought out the caution flag.
Dillon's troubles didn't impact his own stop, Gordon said of the No. 24 team.
"I was on pit road when the caution came out," he said. "We were in a good position to get our tires and be the leader. We actually timed it perfectly. The problem was I was speeding coming in. I don't know how two tires were going to work, but if I was the leader I think they would have worked good.
"I didn’t think I came that hard, but I just couldn't get the car slowed down; I slid through the first couple of boxes; I knew I was speeding. We got lucky the caution came out. We got real lucky."
Gordon started Sunday's race from the pole and stayed out front, or close to it, for the majority of the day. Seeing an opportunity slip away doesn't get any easier for the winner of 92 Sprint Cup races.
"You want to seize those opportunities," he said. "This was an opportunity for us. I definitely feel we had the best car out there. Junior was good; Jimmie was good. But I felt like we were amazing. Yeah, that's frustrating."
The last lap incident, one of two that unfolded but brought out no yellow caution flag, took place as the field exited the second turn.
"You know it was going to get crazy," Gordon said.
"They finally spread out coming to (the white flag). I was just trying to find the lane that was going to not just be clear but have the momentum. I saw Carl (Edwards) get sideways and he almost came back up into me. We avoided that one. Then they started wrecking off (Turn) 2, I thought I was clear but somebody got in my right side and spun me around."
The finish halted a run of six consecutive top-10s for Gordon and dropped him from 10th to 13th in the points standings. Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Sunday's winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. have all but clinched spots in this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Gordon and fellow HMS driver Kasey Kahne, who was 34th on the day, are still looking for this season's first checkered flag. Kahne will be back in the No. 5 next season. Gordon's tenure in the No. 24 is coming to an end. Lost opportunities sting.