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 August News
Jeff Gordon finished 11th in the Bristol Night Race which became a Sunday event following persistent rain showers.
After rain delayed the Saturday night start by nearly an hour, the drivers took the green flag under the lights at Bristol. Gordon moved from 11th to 9th in the opening laps, and ran
8th when the caution waved for rain on lap 30. The race was red-flagged for more than an hour for passing showers and track drying. The drivers returned to their cars
for caution flag laps just before 11 pm. However, another drenching rain storm brought the field to pit road for a red flag delay. NASCAR postponed the race until 1 pm on
Sunday afternoon.
Persistent rain on Sunday delayed the restart until nearly 5 pm. He gained a spot on the restart and ran 7th when the competition caution came on lap 85.
Gordon came to pit road and restarted in 8th place. He used the outside line to his advantage on the restart and moved to 5th. He moved to 3rd
on lap 97 with a move around Martin Truex and Brian Scott. Gordon moved to 2nd with a pass on Ryan Newman on lap 106. He slipped to 3rd when Carl Edwards
went by on lap 135. Truex regained a spot from Gordon on lap 140 to send the #88 Chevrolet back to 4th. A caution for Regan Smith's wall contact on lap 158 brought the field to
pit road. Gordon restarted in 4th place on lap 164. Gordon again used the outside line and moved to 2nd on the restart. However, Gordon nearly lost control
on lap 168 after getting too high beyond the racing groove in turn 4. The back end of the car got loose and forced Gordon to crack the throttle. He dropped to 15th before
recovering in the racing line. At the 200-lap mark, Gordon ran in 19th place. He dispatched Kasey Kahne and ran 18th on lap 225.
A debris caution slowed the field just after the halfway point on lap 256. After pit stops, Gordon restarted in 14th. He gained a spot on the restart,
but eventually dropped to 17th by lap 280. He battled handling issues and fell to 19th on lap 300. The next caution came on lap 308 for Kyle Larson's spin following
contact from Kurt Busch. Pit stops followed with Gordon restarting in 14th. He gained a spot on the restart, but eventually slipped to 15th by lap 350. A caution for
Kyle Busch's broken shock and spin on lap 359 slowed the field. Justin Allgaier hit Busch's car and careened into Martin Truex which damaged all three cars.
After pit stops, Gordon restarted in 12th on lap 372. A caution on lap 375 for a wreck involving Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch eliminated both drivers. The chain reaction
damaged Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Matt Kenseth. Gordon went low onto the apron and moved up to 7th place. The restart came on lap 390
with Gordon on the inside line. He struggled on the inside and dropped to 11th on lap 395, but re-entered the top-10 with a move around Greg Biffle
on lap 401.
The next caution came on lap 412 when Clint Bowyer made contact with the wall. Pit stops followed with Gordon restarting 8th with 79 laps to go. He gained two spots
on the restart, but soon dropped to 9th before a caution for light rain with 67 to go. The race was red-flagged for 20 minutes and resumed at 7:30 pm. Gordon dropped
to 10th after the restart. Joey Logano sent Gordon back to 11th place with 33 to go. He held the position through the finish of the race.
JG's comments
THOUGHTS ON THE TWO GROOVES OF RACING: "It was interesting it made it pretty challenging on the restarts. It helped a little bit with lap traffic. You could at least go down there and hook the
bottom for one lap, but if they truly want to have a bottom groove, call me, I will tell them how to do it."
Summer Days In Knoxville August 11 - - Jeff Gordon made his annual trip to Knoxville, Iowa for the sprint car showcase Knoxville Nationals. The Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation sponsored the #2 sprint car driven by Shane Stewart in the event. In conjunction with the Knoxville Nationals, Gordon hosted charity events in the Knoxville area for childhood cancer research and treatment. He won a go-kart event against luminaries such as Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, and Kasey Kahne on Thursday afternoon.
Long Day On The Road CHEEZ-IT AT THE GLEN - Watkins Glen International. Finish: 14th Jeff Gordon overcame early race damage on the #88 Chevrolet to post a 14th place finish at Watkins Glen. It was his best finish on the 2.45-mile road course since 2011. Gordon started 21st and moved to 19th by the end of lap 2. On lap 4, he got into Austin Dillon entering the inner loop and sustained damage to the left front of the Axalta Chevrolet. He fell to 25th by lap 7 while battling handling issues because of the damage. A debris caution on lap 12 allowed Gordon to come to pit road for repairs. He restarted in 40th place and advanced a spot when Michael Annett pulled into the garage. During a pit stop sequence on laps 25-28, Gordon advanced into the top-15. As more drivers pitted, Gordon moved up to 9th on lap 38. He dropped out of the top-10 when Martin Truex and Matt Kenseth went by. A caution on lap 48 brought Gordon to pit road. He restarted in 19th place on lap 52. The next caution came on lap 54 for a wreck involving Ricky Stenhouse, Greg Biffle, Austin Dillon, and Jimmie Johnson. Stenhouse lost control exiting the carousel section of the course and triggered a chain-reaction crash. The race was red-flagged for 20 minutes for track clean-up. He came to pit road for tires and restarted in 19th on lap 56. A caution for David Ragan, Carl Edwards, and Clint Bowyer's crash on lap 57 to go slowed the field. Gordon had advanced to 16th at that stage. Gordon gained two spots on the restart, and then took a spot from Chase Elliott to run 12th on lap 60. The fifth caution came on lap 64 for debris with Gordon holding 11th place. However, Gordon faded after the restart and dropped to 15th on lap 70. Elliott and Carl Edwards got around Gordon on lap 74 to send the #88 Chevrolet back to 17th. Alex Kennedy's engine brought out the caution on lap 76. The restart came with 10 laps to go. No sooner did the field get the green that Ryan Newman's spin resulted in a caution. Gordon gained two spots to restart 15th with 7 to go. He ran 17th when the caution waved for a wreck involving Kevin Harvick, Chris Buesher, and David Ragan at the exit of the inner loop. After a red flag, the restart came with 4 to go. Gordon advanced to 14th on the white flag lap and posted his best Watkins Glen finish since 2011.
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