Gordon holds on to win crazy Charlotte race
Quote selected text Published October 13th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Jeff Gordon didn’t think he had enough fuel to finish, but he made it last and captured the Bank of America 500 at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the fifth race of the 10-race “Chase for the Nextel Cup.” The four-time series champion crossed the finish line 0.579 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer.
The victory was Gordon’s second in a row, sixth of the season and 81st of his Nextel Cup career.
“Just an incredible day for this Dupont Chevrolet team,” said Gordon. “I have to thank all these guys, they just never gave up. The best the car was all night was there at the end…it was just ‘on rails.’”
With three laps to go, Newman posted the fastest lap of the race, but lost control and crashed to bring out one more caution flag.
Johnson came in for fuel and tires. Gordon was afraid he was running low on fuel as was Kyle Busch, who was in third place. It was looking like Bowyer might be the favorite to get the win.
Gordon got off to a better start as Bowyer tried to go underneath, but had to get off the gas as he hit Gordon’s rear bumper. The No.24 Chevy built a lead of about five lengths as they saw the white flag. From there Bowyer tried to make a run, but couldn’t get close enough and Gordon took his second consecutive victory.
“I have to thank Clint Bowyer for racing me clean,” said Gordon. “And Kyle Busch, I ran out of gas going into turn one, it just didn’t pick up the fuel in the tank, and he could have run all over the top of me.”
Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards completed the top-five.
Gordon’s win gives him a 68-point lead over Johnson, who finished 14th, and 78 over Bowyer.
The “Chase” returns to the track on Sunday, October 21st at the Martinsville Speedway for race number six of the “Chase.”
More at The Sports Network
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
FIN, ST, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, PTS/BNS, LAPS, STATUS
1 4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 190/5 337 Running
2 25 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 175/5 337 Running
3 13 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 170/5 337 Running
4 27 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 160/0 337 Running
5 18 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 155/0 337 Running
6 34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar/ CatUsed.com 155/5 337 Running
7 29 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 146/0 337 Running
8 5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Mopar / Dodge Dealers / UAW 142/0 337 Running
9 28 40 David Stremme Dodge Target 138/0 337 Running
10 19 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 139/5 337 Running
11 33 88 Ricky Rudd Ford Snickers 130/0 337 Running
12 3 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Racing / Pink for the Cure 127/0 337 Running
13 39 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 124/0 337 Running
14 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 131/10 337 Running
15 30 84 A.J. Allmendinger * Toyota Red Bull 118/0 337 Running
16 12 01 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 115/0 337 Running
17 32 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 112/0 337 Running
18 42 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Tire Kingdom 114/5 337 Running
19 22 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 106/0 337 Running
20 11 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Kinko’s 103/0 337 Running
21 9 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 100/0 336 Running
22 17 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet Rain-X / Menards 97/0 336 Running
23 23 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Yellow Trans. 94/0 336 Off Track
24 6 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 96/5 336 Running
25 21 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s / Susan G Komen for the Cure 88/0 335 Running
26 8 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 90/5 335 Running
27 10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 82/0 334 Running
28 1 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 84/5 334 Running
29 20 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Dominos.com 76/0 333 Running
30 26 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Fujifilm 73/0 333 Running
31 41 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 70/0 331 Running
32 37 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Best Buy / Garmin 67/0 330 Running
33 24 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 64/0 330 Running
34 7 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt for Women 66/5 283 Running
35 35 21 Bill Elliott Ford Ore-Ida Extra Crispy / Heinz 58/0 282 Running
36 14 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley Tools / Valvoline 55/0 279 Out of Race
37 36 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 52/0 274 Out of Race
38 40 7 Robby Gordon Ford Motorola Digital Audio Players 54/5 270 Running
39 38 36 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 360 OTC 46/0 254 Running
40 31 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA 43/0 231 Running
41 16 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 40/0 228 Off Track
42 43 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 37/0 207 Out of Race
43 15 4 Ward Burton Chevrolet Lucas Oil / State Water Heaters 34/0 84 Out of Race
- Gordon gets fine, probation and warning from NASCAR
- 2007 All Star video: Harvick holds off Jimmie Johnson
- Johns Manville joins Gordon for Indy
- Hendrick VP says other teams ‘outside the rules’ this weekend
- Jeff Gordon to make appearance in ESPN’s Monday Night Football Booth in Charlotte
YOU GO JEFF!!!!!!
freakin sweet! im sooo glad that i had tonight off and i was able to watch this!!!!!!!!!!! awesome! im soo thrilled!!!!!
Yes Yes Yes!!!! All my screaming, jumping up and down, and holding my breath for Jeff to capture yet at another win really worked! What a comeback for Jeff, in the house that Jimmy built, I guess there is something to this momentum thing.
I love how Steve LaTarte is able to keep Jeff on track and does not give into the (I hate to say it…) whining Jeff does. 12 more laps of fuel in the car but he’s already missing and running out at 4 to go, thank you Steve for NOT bringing him down pit road to calm him down, Steve is awesome!
DRIVE FOR 5 - SOOOOOOOOO ALIVE, Jeff Gordon Rocks!!!!!
way to go jeff good job
see how good of a race that was? every cot race has blowed and this just revived it why doesn’t NASCAR see how much more entertaining the old car is?
I would like to point out the three good finishes for the Toyota’s… Blaney in 6th, Waltrip in 10th, and Almendinger in 15th. Great showing from those guys again today, that toyota program has come a long way from the beginning of the season and will continue to improve greatly with the Gibbs bunch coming on next season.
The house that jimmie built? I had no idea that speedway was only 5 years old.
Umm yea im pretty sure she was joking because Lowe’s is Jimmy and the track’s sponsor. And im pretty sure you knew that too. I just don’t get why people argue for the sake of arguing.
BS race.
End of story.
Assface wins again, what a freakin suprise.
::rolls eyes::
sushstewart20 wrote:
Boo hoo, get over it. I bet you didn’t think the sears point race where TS got the win after JG spun on turn 11 was BS now didja?
Donny wrote:
umm, i thought that was Watkins Glen and Turn 1? haha. gotta love incomprehensive people.
Donny wrote:
sushstewart20 wrote:
BS race.
End of story.
Assface wins again, what a freakin suprise.
::rolls eyes::
Boo hoo, get over it. I bet you didn’t think the sears point race where TS got the win after JG spun on turn 11 was BS now didja?
umm, i thought that was Watkins Glen and Turn 1? haha. gotta love incomprehensive people.
Every time i keep trying i fall off the back of the couch. so thank you very much donny
Everybody needs to keep their eye on the Toyota’s. They will be dominating next year without a doubt. So much for Chevy’s, Ford’s, Dodge’s etcetc. Those days are over. It’s all about imports and Nascar is doing the right thing by bringing more in and i cant wait for Honda to come across. These F1 drivers are going to be a force to be recogned with as well. The new day’s are coming Imports and F1 drivers taking over Nascar!!!!…..I cant wait. Get over it everybody cause its coming whether all of you like it or not.
Just because there in the field doesn’t mean they will dominate, let then come I love good compitition but IMO Chevy, Ford and Dodge will still do just fine unless Toyota pays all the teams to run there brand. Besides unlike other series Nascar “trys” to keep things even among Manufactures.
sushstewart20 wrote:
cue baby crying
These teams are like pro wrestlers. They’re telling you one thing when the story line is not true. They’re ALWAYS out of gas. We must’ve heard that 20 times over the past 2 seasons and only 3 guys actually couldn’t make it.
Way to go J. Gordon and Steve Letart. What
an great team. He didn’t say he was out of
gas, he had a pick up problem, as there was
such a small amount, in the tank.
Anyway, great win–and leading in points–
again.
i have come to the conclusion when gordon says he is out of gas he is lying. its happened twice now and he always has gas left over. its just a stunt to make him look good. i guess he needs something. everybody is so afraid of taking out a chaser it makes a duller race. i had to be woke up for the ending. with all the new rules nascar has made, its turning into a real snoozefest. kyle was under orders not to wreck jeff, or in other words, let him win. clint raced jeff clean, so he couldn’t dump him without being penalized. bring back the good ol days!
i wish that clint won it, newman has to kicking him self in the ass, but jeff got lucky (the right place at the right time)
Kyle and Jeff were told, “not to wreck each other.” Jeff told R Hendrick, if Kyle could pass
him, without wrecking either one, he would let
him go. I said at that time, (If I were Hendrick)
I would have given Kyle the order, to stay behind Jeff, as Kyle has no chance of winning
the championship. (That is the rule in F1)
But what can you expect from an avid JG
fan? I’ll see him win the championship in
Homestead. Go Jeff!!!
Just a couple comments:
1) This is a mutli million dollar business if anybody thinks that money don’t come in play at who wins some races is an idiot. Now, since it’s in chase format the first 26 races means nothing except for a handfull that battles for the last spots in the top 12. Yes I’m almost sure that J.Gordon rolled of the road at the Glenn was on purpose, and I’m sure that Gordon will have a bad race on purpose in the last few races. If not the chase would be boring right Nascar? By the way did anybody see the cowboys get jacked by the refs Sunday.
2) I’m also sure that R. Hendrick did make sure that Kyle knew not to pass Gordon, I have no clue why he actually listened. On the last restart Kyle did have a chance to pass him (like Newman) and choose not too.
Before any comments I am a Johnson/Hendrick fan and will aslo be pulling for Dario Franchitti next year, I still am a Racing Fan and a Football Fan & it just kills me to see stuff like this happening and noticable to the fans.
Boy I tell you what, I sure am glad AutoRacingSport was able to make the changes they did so that the next time someone is all butt hurt about their driver doing badly they can’t sign in as you and make it look like you cussed them out.
Hope you got the boot for that Amanda!