SWEEP SUCCESS
Gordon sweeps Talladega, gets 80th win
By Reid Spencer,Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service, October 8
TALLADEGA, Ala. --Neither Jeff Gordon nor Jimmie Johnson enjoyed playing
possum Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
But an unknown quantity — NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow — dictated a
conservative strategy in the UAW-Ford 500 at the 2.66-mile track. As it
turned out, conservatism was the key to success for the Hendrick
Motorsports teammates.
With a bump from Tony Stewart’s No. 20 Chevrolet, Gordon passed Johnson
on the backstretch on the 188th and final lap and held on to win for the
fifth time this season and the 80th time in his Cup career. Gordon also
wrested the top spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup from his
teammate and leads Johnson by nine points as the series heads to
Charlotte for the fifth race in the Chase.
Dave Blaney ran third and regained a position in the top 35 in owner
points. Denny Hamlin was fourth, despite catching a piece of an 11-car
wreck late in the race. Ryan Newman finished fifth, followed by Casey
Mears, Kurt Busch, Stewart, Tony Raines and Reed Sorenson.
Gordon, who won for the sixth time at Talladega to break a tie with Dale
Earnhardt Jr. for victories at the track, beat Johnson to the finish
line by .066 seconds after both drivers spent most of the afternoon
deliberately lagging behind the front pack at NASCAR’s largest and most
capricious superspeedway. The cautious approach tried the patience of
both drivers, but it paid enormous dividends.
“I’ve never yawned in a racecar, but I yawned back there,” Gordon said.
“It was the hardest race I’ve ever had to be in, with that type of
mind-set. I’ve never had to do that before, where you’re back there in
the back and kind of riding along. I was running half-throttle — we were
getting amazing fuel mileage.
“Based on what we found here in testing, and based on where we
qualified, that pretty much answered what our approach was for today. …
I even told (owner) Rick Hendrick earlier in the week, when some guys
were talking about that strategy, ‘I can’t do it.’ It was tough, because
I don’t like going out there and riding in the back. I want to be up
there battling for the lead. I knew we could get up there. I just didn’t
know how far we could get.”
Johnson also had to overcome the urge to move forward.
Random Thoughts and Observations after ‘Dega
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily, October 7
Jeff Gordon won yet again at Talladega. Using cunning combined with the knowledge and experience that only someone who now has six wins at the famed Alabama venue can have, Gordon celebrated in victory lane and seemed happier no doubt then when Ingrid first said she’d go out with him.
He skipped the five bonus points for leading a lap earlier in the race in order to hang back, stay out of trouble and suddenly appear at the front of the field when it mattered. Of course now the baby’s clothes smell like champagne.
More missiles, aka trash, was thrown on the track again as Gordon tried to celebrate. It seems no matter what the track does, idiots will almost always try it. And anyone who throws anything on the track is an idiot. Period.
Tony Stewart zigged when he should have zagged late in the race. It was a rare error in judgment that left Tony winless at the famed superspeedway yet again. And no I wasn’t about to try and ask afterwards how his race went. I had yet to notify my next of kin and make sure my affairs were in order.
Empty seats at Talladega? There were some. That should raise some red flags somewhere.
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