Jeff Gordon back in the winners circle. After 66 starts many had fallen to the belief that Gordon had seen his last days in the winners circle, but Big Daddy decided to prove them wrong as he took the win in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. If anyone could have fulfilled a wish for NASCAR this would definitely be one of them. The crowd certainly seemed to agree as Jeff Gordon drove past Kyle Busch with 8 laps to go and never needed to look in his rear view again. Having run up front and led laps early Gordon knew he had a car that could win it, but as late race cautions began to shuffle the field and Kyle Busch got out front, it looked like the sweep was inevitable until the final restart.
With 23 laps to go Tony Stewart made a 2 tire pit stop and came out at the head of the field, a decision which proved costly as he moved backwards through the field quickly finishing in 7th. Kyle Busch passed Stewart with Jeff Gordon following closely as Busch began to check out on the field. Gordon was the only car that could keep up with Busch at first and for the next 15 laps Gordon closed the distance. Then with only 8 laps remaining, Gordon got his bumper up under Busch’s rear fender causing him to wiggle just enough for Gordon to make the pass.
“He was gaining on me really good, and I knew he was going to get to me eventually, and this place is so flat and it’s one groove that we all run the bottom,” Busch said of the sequence where Gordon got to his bumper on Lap 304. The noise from the crowd was deafening as Gordon started to check out on the field and never looked back.
While we may have lost the Intimidator 10 years ago, Gordon showed that he had certainly been paying attention in class with a move that reminded me of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and proved that Gordon still has what it takes to get the win.
“He got so tucked up behind me in 3 and 4, he got me loose, and I could not put the gas down,” Busch said. “I mean, he was so far up underneath me that I could not go forward.” [Read more…]