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October News
Recap
Gordon started 19th and moved up to 15th by the end of lap 5. He was running 14th when the first caution waved on lap 31 for Casey Mears' wall contact.
Gordon pitted for tires and restarted in 20th place. He moved to 17th but was unable to make significant headway before the next caution on lap 70
for AJ Allemdinger's cut tire. Gordon opted for 2 tires and restarted in 7th place. He moved to 6th before a caution for Jeff Burton's
wall contact on lap 83. Gordon slipped to 9th after the restart, but eventually worked his way around Regan Smith to take 8th place on lap 110.
Aric Almirola's cut tire on lap 123 slowed the field. Gordon came in for tires and restarted in 4th place. Jimmie Johnson crashed on lap 136
to bring out the caution. Johnson got loose exiting turn 4 and backed the Lowes Chevrolet into the wall.
Repairs were made on pit road which allowed Johnson to stay on the lead lap.
On the restart, Gordon moved to the runner-up position behind race leader Matt Kenseth. One lap later, Bobby Labonte's wall contact slowed the field.
Gordon dropped to 3rd on the restart before Danica Patrick's crash brought out the caution on lap 156. He came to pit road for 2 tires and
restarted 7th because of some drivers opting not to pit. Gordon dropped to 9th before a caution on lap 165 for Tony Stewart's spin.
A caution for Greg Biffle's crash with 92 to go slowed the field with Gordon in 10th place. With 85 to go, Ryan Newman hit Kyle Busch and created
a wreck in turn 4. With 54 laps to go, Almirola's crash brought out the caution and the final round of pit stops ensued. Gordon restarted
in 9th place after opting for 4 tires. He moved to 8th before a caution for Sam Hornish's cut tire with 33 laps to go. Gordon dropped
to 9th with 14 to go when Brad Keselowski went by. Two laps later Johnson went by Gordon to drop him to 10th place where he finished the event.
It was Gordon's 7th top-10 in the last 9 races.
Turning point
JG's comments
Penalty Box Bank of America 500 - Charlotte Motor Speedway. Finish: 18th
Recap Gordon started 11th and moved into the top-10 within 2 laps. By lap 10 he had advanced to 8th place. The first caution waved on lap 11 for Matt Kenseth's cut tire and spin in turn four. Another caution just after the restart on lap 16 collected Jeff Burton and David Ragan. Gordon dropped to 10th on the restart on lap 23. He was in 11th when the third caution waved on lap 36 for Paul Menard's wall contact. Gordon came to pit road for tires and restarted in 18th place. He moved back into the top-15 on lap 52 and ran 12th before a cycle of green flag pit stops. Gordon stayed on the track to lead a lap before coming to pit road on lap 86. He fell to 14th after pit stops. Gordon ran 13th at the 100-lap mark of the event. Gordon ran 15th before a green flag pit stop at lap 214. Gordon received a very costly pit road speeding penalty and lost a lap. He put himself into position to get back on the lead lap -- as the first car one lap down. However, the race went into a long green flag run. With 30 laps to go, he ran in 16th place, one lap down. He made his final pit stop under green with 18 to go. Following the stop, Gordon ran in 20th place with 10 laps to go -- hopelessly trapped off the lead lap. He finished the event 18th. It was his fourth finish of 18th or worse in his last 5 races at Charlotte.
Turning point
Right Place, Right Time Good Sam 500 - Talladega Superspeedway. Finish: 2nd
Recap Gordon started 6th and moved into the top-5 by the end of the first lap. He stayed in the draft on the low line behind Kasey Kahne and moved up to 3rd place by lap 4. He dropped to 7th before the first caution on lap 18 for a crash involving Carl Edwards and Cole Whitt. Gordon came in for a fuel-only stop and restarted in 10th place. He moved to the outside line on lap 35 and ran behind Casey Mears. Gordon briefly pushed Mears into the lead on lap 50 before the outside line went by. Gordon again pushed Mears into the lead on lap 57 before a green flag pit stop sequence on lap 61. Gordon moved to the outside line and drafted with Matt Kenseth who pushed the #24 car into the lead on lap 73. He led for 5 laps before Jamie McMurray drafted by. Kasey Kahne picked up Gordon on the outside line and briefly pushed him into the lead on lap 83 before the field went by and dropped the pair outside the top-10. The second caution waved on lap 99 when Kurt Busch ran out of gas and was wrecked on the backstretch. Gordon came in for 4 tires and restarted in 4th place. However, he fell back on the restart without a drafting partner on the outside line. Gordon settled into the lower half of the top-20 with 60 laps to go. He moved to the middle line and moved into the top-10 with 55 to go. A debris caution slowed the field 5 laps later with Gordon in 11th place. He came in to top off the fuel tank under caution with 46 to go. After nearly wrecking behind Kenseth, Gordon dropped to the lower part of the top-20 with 35 to go. With 20 to go, Gordon ran in 18th place and was biding his time looking for a drafting partner. With 15 to go, Gordon pushed Jamie McMurray into the top-5 on the outside line. Five laps later, Gordon pushed McMurray into the lead. With a drafting push from Dale Earnhardt Jr, Gordon pulled even with McMurray, but was unable to take the lead. Gordon then wound up on the outside line and drifted back to 8th place with Earnhardt Jr in tow. With 8 to go, Gordon and Earnhardt Jr had slipped to 11th and 12th. The Hendrick teammates drafted back into the top-5 with 6 laps to go on the outside line. Jamie McMurray's spin with 5 laps to go brought out the caution flag. Gordon came to pit road for a splash of fuel to make it to the finish. He restarted in 11th place -- directly behind Kasey Kahne -- with 2 laps to go. On the final lap, Tony Stewart cut down on Michael Waltrip setting off a multiple-car melee in turn 4. Gordon drilled the rear of Kahne's car, sending him up the track. Kyle Busch hit Gordon and the #24 car went to the apron. Gordon kept the car straight and was just one of three cars to cross the finish line within 5 seconds of race winner Matt Kenseth. Gordon's 2nd place effort was his 6th top-5 finish in the last 7 races. He moved up to 6th in the series standings, 42 behind Brad Keselowski.
Turning point JG's commments "It wasn't looking really good there when we took the white flag, I'll be honest. I found the restart we had -- we had to come in and take fuel which was unfortunate. We had worked really hard to get ourselves up there, and you've got to believe there's going to be more than one green/white checkered, typically so. We had to come and do that. So we were in a decent position, still up there about 10th or 9th or something. I had the 5 in front of me, and the 18 behind me. It was like, man, we're looking good. We've just got to get an opening, and this group is going to run. But we took off, and I was pushing from the start/finish line and never stopped pushing them. We weren't going anywhere. I have no idea. I have to go back and watch the video because I just don't understand what was stalling our line, but it just was not going anywhere. Then the middle lane, the outside lane, they were just trucking by us. We started to make a little bit of ground down the back straightaway. We were like four-wide, went into three, and I saw smoke. When I saw smoke, everybody checked up in a hurry, and I hit the 5 and the 18 hit me, and it just turned me right down to the apron and I drove by pretty much everybody but the 17. So we got really lucky there. Like you said, it keeps the championship hopes alive."
Q. What is your reaction running out there at 190 miles an hour and seeing all of that?
Q. You guys knew it was coming, didn't you?
Q. Do you guys enjoy this kind of race?
Q. Did you see on the white flag lap Matt going from the middle lane all the way across, running into the 15 and then coming back across? Did you see that? Were you surprised by that?
Q. I guess first part of my question is kind of lost, but as far as what you guys can see. I don't know if you know, but Tony took a hundred percent blame. He said he cut down across Michael trying to protect position and all. So if either of you guys saw any of that, I'd be interested. But when you've got a guy as skillful as Tony Stewart on places like that and he, leading the race, acknowledges causing this massive pileup. Is that even more of an indictment of the way the racing is going here like y'all were talking about? Does that just add to your stating the case for the craziness of it?
Q. On the Talladega crowd and empty seats:
Q. On lulls in the action: Q. Take a minute to talk about the performance of your team today? "Our team did awesome. We had a fast race car. Awesome race team, great pit stops, great calls from a team standpoint. It was a great day."
Q. You finished third and second the last three weeks. But I think you've only gained five points on the leader. Is that frustrating to you?
Q. On these types of tracks when somebody gets a crazy run on you -- I think the 88 is who got the run on you today and turned you completely sideways at 200-however many miles an hour. After you save it, what is that moment like when you realize that you're not going to clear?
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