RSS
Home
Gordon unable to capitalize after Johnson opens doors
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
AP Photo/Larry Papke
Jeff Gordon was given a golden opportunity on lap three. For all intents and purposes, his title hopes were over...until Sam Hornish was spun, collecting Jimmie Johnson and sending the No, 48 car behind the wall.
Leading at the time, Gordon seemed poised to vault himself firmly back into contention, as he was then but 31 points clear of the lead. But, a car that wouldn't handle properly after the first run prevented them from getting a top ten, let alone a top five. A 13th place finish is what Gordon and the No. 24 team will have to accept as they head to Phoenix. Sure, their deficit is now 112 points, down from 192. But, it could have been much less. Even though their chances are indeed better than they were heading into Sunday's race, they still aren't the best.
What happened? Gordon won the pole, led early on, ran in the top five through the first stint. Where did they go wrong? For the first time in a very long time, Steve Letarte simply made a bad adjustment. A "big swing" on their first stop, and a mistake on the right-rear, dropped them back to 11th, and they were mired back in the field for much of the day, nearly getting lapped twice. One timely yellow, and then some late-conserving on the part of the leaders, kept him on the lead-lap, and several drivers running out of fuel moved him up in the final laps, but it was not the day that Gordon needed after Johnson finally hit a bump in the road.
Instead, he failed to significantly help his title hopes, and now Mark Martin is the only driver with a realistic shot of ending Jimmie Johnson's reign as champion.Only 73 points back, Martin can certainly have shot at unseating Johnson, though he'll have to cut that gap in half next week Phoenix. Given that Martin won there back in April, that much certainly seems possible.
For Gordon, though, Texas was a missed opportunity.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
.jpg)
