Jeff Gordon finished 14th at Pocono Raceway after a mid-race caution flag essentially killed his strategy. Gordon had lost track position on a restart and stayed on the track during a caution period. He took the race lead on lap 92, but a caution on lap 94 brought him to pit road and put him back in traffic after most of the lead lap cars stayed out. Gordon posted his fourth consecutive top-15 finish and sits 10th in NASCAR total points.
Gordon started 4th and moved to 2nd on the opening lap by using the outside line to his advantage. Martin Truex passed on lap 5 to send Gordon back to 3rd. Three laps later, Kevin Harvick took a spot. Gordon eventually ran down Carl Edwards to take 3rd on lap 21. He came to pit road for a green flag stop on lap 28 and cycled through in 3rd place. NASCAR waved the first caution on lap 49 for debris. Pit stops followed with Gordon exiting in 6th place after a few drivers opted for two fresh tires. On the restart, Gordon went high in turn 1 and dropped outside the top-10. He fell as low as 14th before regrouping to move back into 11th place on lap 61. He re-entered the top-10 by passing Ryan Newman on lap 62. The second caution came on lap 69 for Ricky Stenhouse’s crash. Gordon came to pit road for tires and restarted in 13th place after several drivers stayed out. Gordon lost a couple of spots on the restart after Kasey Kahne dove to the inside heading into turn 1. He regrouped and took 15th from Brad Keselowski on lap 82. The next caution came on lap 87 for Jimmie Johnson’s cut tire. Gordon stayed on the track and restarted in 2nd place on lap 91.
Gordon moved to the race lead on lap 92 after the restart. Two laps later, the caution waved for Alex Bowman’s spin in turn 3. Gordon came to pit road for tires and restarted in 25th place. At the 100-lap mark, he ran in 20th place. Gordon gained one spot in the next 20 laps and ran 19th when the caution waved for Sam Hornish’s cut tire and crash on lap 121. Pit stops followed with Gordon restarting in 19th place on lap 125. Brett Moffitt’s spin on lap 129 brought out the caution. Gordon came to pit road for tires and restarted in 20th place. Just two laps after the restart, the caution came again for Danica Patrick’s crash in turn 1. Gordon restarted in 19th place with 21 laps to go. One lap after the restart, AJ Allmendinger wrecked Ryan Newman in turn 1 to bring out a caution. He restarted in 21st place with 16 laps to go. He gained 5 spots within the next 3 laps and ran in 16th place with 12 to go. Three laps later, he took 15th place from Clint Bowyer. Gordon advanced to 14th with a move around Casey Mears with 4 to go.
source: Jeff Gordon Online
Race Results [pdf] [html]
Driver Standings [pdf] [html] [jpg]
Owner Standings [html]
Chase Standings [html]
In-Car Audio
MP3 Download
Run Time: 23 minutes
File Size: 2.6mb
MP3 Download – with spotter chatter
Run Time: 37 minutes
File Size: 4mb
Meltdown between Jeff and Alan:
Photos
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