Gordon fifth on 'crazy night'

Sunday, May. 10, 2009

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Jeff Gordon had a loose wheel.

It was hot inside his No. 24 Chevrolet and he needed ice.

Lapped cars never seemed to get out the way.

There were plenty of reasons Gordon could have had a bad night at Darlington Raceway.and perhaps given up his points lead in the Sprint Cup Series.

Instead, there was one word to describe his fifth-place finish: perseverance.

“We never gave up. It was edgy. It was definitely a handful,” said Gordon, who was running 32nd after the first 100 laps. “For us, it was a crazy night. We had to overcome a lot of things.

“I was just trying to stay out of the cautions - and not be a caution - and try to fight back from getting a lap down from having that loose wheel.”

The hard-fought result left Gordon, a seven-time winner at the historic track, still leading the series standings with a 29-point advantage over a fast-approaching Tony Stewart.

“Tony and Ryan (Newman, Stewart’s teammate) are doing an amazing job,” Gordon said. “Their teams are strong. Their equipment is obviously good, we know how good that is, and the resources.”

Stewart Haas Racing gets car chassis and engines from Hendrick Motorsports.

Stewart and Gordon were among the drivers who elected to pit during a caution on Lap 322 for two tires. Seven teams, including that of race winner Mark Martin, stayed out.

“At Darlington, because it’s a long race, you can overcome a lot, but those guys played the strategy right there at the end and I really thought those two tires were going to work for me and Tony,” Gordon said.

“They did for a short period of time, then the car just stopped.”

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