November 8 – – Jeff Gordon’s frustration boiled over in the late afternoon sun at Texas Motor Speedway. After battling handling issues for the balance of the day, Gordon was wrecked during a caution period by Jeff Burton in turn two on lap 191. The drivers exited their cars and had a brief melee before being separated. Gordon sustained his 3rd DNF of the season and finished 37th.
Gordon started 15th and moved to 14th by lap 10. The field was slowed by a caution flag for Joe Nemechek’s engine on lap 12. Pit stops followed with Gordon opting for two tires. He restarted 8th on lap 17 and immediately jumped to 6th. However, he dropped to 7th on lap 27 as his lap times began slowing. Jimmie Johnson passed Gordon to take a position on lap 35. He fell to 10th on lap 37 when Paul Menard and Kyle Busch went by. A debris caution on lap 43 slowed the field and allowed Gordon’s crew to make chassis adjustments on pit road. Gordon changed four tires and gained two spots in the pits. He lost those spots immediately after the restart as his handling woes continued.
Gordon dropped to 12th on lap 50 unable to advance forward. A caution for Sam Hornish’s wall contact on lap 59 slowed the field. Gordon changed tires and restarted 17th on lap 64. He moved up to 15th within three laps of the restart. Kevin Harvick sent him back to 16th on lap 71. He followed Harvick through traffic and ran 14th on lap 90. He moved back into the top-10 on lap 105 with a pass on Elliott Sadler. Gordon came to pit road for a green flag pit stop on lap 111. Following the stops, Gordon ran in 14th place. Martin Truex’s spin on lap 132 brought the field to pit road. Gordon restarted in the top-10 but dropped back a few laps after the green flag. He faded to 15th by lap 150 when the caution waved for Truex’s cut tire. Pit stops followed and Gordon restarted 18th on lap 156. Gordon masterfully held his line and avoided Kyle Busch’s spinning car one lap after the restart. He spent the next 25 laps running in 20th place.
On lap 191, Jeff Burton drilled Gordon from behind sending him into the wall. Gordon exited the car and jogged across the track to the safety vehicle. He shoved Burton with both hands and unloaded with a right hand. Burton took the blame for the incident in a TV interview, which was little consolation to Gordon. “He went wide in turn three, I got to the inside and he drove into me,” Gordon said. “Then the caution came out. We went into turn one and I guess he was frustrated and drove in my right rear and put me in the wall.” Gordon slipped to 6th in points and will be mathematically eliminated from title contention next week at Phoenix. Although that’s merely for posterity since his focus had shifted to 2011 a few weeks ago.
After the wreck, Gordon’s pit crew was called over to Johnson’s pit stall as crew chief Chad Knaus elected to replace his entire crew. Gordon’s crew pitted Johnson’s car for the remainder of the day — turning stops a full second quicker than the 48 team had previously done earlier in the event.
source: gordonline.com
Audio
Jeff Gordon Post Race Comments
[audio:http://www.scannerbytes.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Jeff-Gordon-2010-11-07-AAA-Texas-500-Texas-Jeff-Gordon-Post-Race-Comments.mp3|titles=Jeff Gordon – 2010-11-07 – AAA Texas 500 – Texas – Jeff Gordon Post Race Comments]
Jeff Burton Post Race Comments
[audio:http://www.scannerbytes.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Jeff-Gordon-2010-11-07-AAA-Texas-500-Texas-Jeff-Burton-Post-Race-Comments.mp3|titles=Jeff Gordon – 2010-11-07 – AAA Texas 500 – Texas – Jeff Burton Post Race Comments]
In Car Audio
[audio:http://www.scannerbytes.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Jeff-Gordon-2010-11-07-AAA-Texas-500-Texas.mp3|titles=Jeff Gordon – 2010-11-07 – AAA Texas 500 – Texas]
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