KEY
BISCAYNE,
FL. (May
11) - -
It's
often
said
that you
must
walk
confidently
before
you
begin to
run.
After
struggling
on the
downforce
tracks
from the
outset
of the
2008
season,
Jeff
Gordon
took a
necessary
step
forward
with a
3rd
place
effort
in the
Southern
500 at
Darlington
Raceway.
While
Gordon
was a
distant
3rd
behind
Kyle
Busch
and Carl
Edwards
-- the
two
drivers
who have
dominated
downforce
tracks
this
season--
he put
together
an
effort
that
bolstered
his
standing
in the
series
as he
moved up
to 10th
with 15
races
remaining
before
the
chase
for the
championship.
Gordon
started
eighth
and
moved to
sixth on
lap 2
when
Elliot
Sadler's
driving
error
ruined
Tony
Stewart's
night.
He
remained
in sixth
for most
of the
first
half of
the race
as
passing
was
virtually
non-existent
on the
newly
paved
surface.
On lap
140, he
moved to
fourth
after
gaining
two
spots on
pit
road. He
passed
Dale
Earnhardt
Jr. to
take
third on
lap 172.
He
briefly
took the
lead of
the
event
during a
pit stop
sequence
when he
stayed
on the
track.
However,
Busch
and
Edwards
pulled
away
from him
and left
him a
distant
third at
the
finish.
"I knew
it was
going to
be very
tough to
pass,"
Gordon
said.
"But
guys who
had
their
cars
working
real
good
would be
able to
come up
through
there,
like
Carl,
and like
Kyle
when he
went to
the
back.
All we
did was
we
started
eighth.
Two cars
wrecked
in front
of us.
We got
to
sixth.
Somehow
some
track
position
worked
out. We
got in
the top
five. We
just had
awesome
pit
stops
all
night
long
because
we did
not have
a car
that
could
have
driven
from the
back to
the
front.
I'm
happy
that we
have a
top-five
and we
are
third,
but also
how
frustrated
I am
because
of how
far off
we are
from
winning
races
right
now. We
did the
tire
test
here at
Darlington
and Kyle
just
kicked
everybody's
tails
tonight.
So, we
have
some
work to
do. We
have
been
working
hard,
hopefully
we can
get a
little
bit
closer
to them
at
Charlotte."
