During Friday’s practice, the oil pump belt came off Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet. The resulting damage to the engine forced the team to switch powerplants before qualifying.
Gordon qualified 27th of the 44 cars entered, with a fast lap of 186.229 mph., but said the backup engine “felt great” during his run. Still, the end result is that Gordon will have to drop to the tail-end of the field when the green flag drops.
“Obviously, we’ve had a struggle here [Friday], ” Gordon said. “We were getting the car better and then had a problem with the oil pump belt and the engine failure. So we know it’s going to be a tough day for us. We know we’re going to start in the back. And if there’s any track where you can start at the back and work your way up through there, it’s Michigan. “
If there’s small consolation, Gordon said Michigan International Speedway is one of those places where passing is not at a premium.
“Michigan’s big and wide and there’s plenty of room to race out there, so I don’t feel that’s going to be an issue, ” Gordon said. “We’re going to try and make some adjustments here and still try to get the best qualifying lap that we can for pit location and see what we’ve got with the car. “
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