When your name is Jeff Gordon, 66 races without a win is like an eternity. And preventing Kyle Busch his third win of the weekend makes it that much sweeter.
“We just beat Kyle Busch!” he yelled into his radio before peeling off in a burnout after winning the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Overcoming a slew of potentially disastrous incidents, Gordon passed Busch with eight laps left and padded his lead from there, ending the longest winless streak of his career. Kansas City Star
The four-time Sprint Cup champion collected his 83rd career victory, which placed him in a tie with Cale Yarborough for fifth on the series’ all-time race winners list.
“I don’t really care how we did it; we just wanted to get to victory lane,” Gordon said. “To do it that way and to see the fans’ reaction, hey, we beat Kyle Busch this weekend. He is so tough to beat.”
Gordon’s win came in his second race with new crew chief Alan Gustafson.
Just days after the 2010 season-finale at Homestead, FL, team owner Rick Hendrick made a crew chief swap for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Gordon’s teams. MiamiHerald.com
“Man, what an awesome feeling it is when you’ve got the car right like that and they give you 20 to go and it’s your job to get it done,” said Gordon, whose team whipped a car that struggled in practice into shape. Gordon qualified 20th.
“It has not been a lot of fun going to the race track,” Gordon said. “We battled, we worked and we out-raced them (today) and that was so cool. It’s got me excited about the rest of the season.”
Click Here to Read More:
Interview With NASCAR Cup Race Winner - Jeff Gordon And Crew Chief Alan Gustafson
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix - Race Results
Hendrick was equally pumped.
“When you’re a champion like Jeff Gordon, you know you can still do it, (even) when people overlook you,” Hendrick said. “He’s been right there but he hasn’t had that edge. I think we’re going to see a lot of momentum out of that team right now.” USA Today
“He was on a mission today, that’s for sure,” said Busch, who held on for second to fall just short of winning all three NASCAR races in the same weekend for the second time in his career.
“When Jeff Gordon has a good car and he’s got the opportunity to beat you, he’s going to beat you, there’s no doubt about that. He’s my hero and I’ve always watched him and what he’s been able to accomplish over the years, so it’s no surprise that he beat us.”
Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five in a 312-lap race around PIR’s mile oval, the last on the current surface.
They were among the survivors after several accidents earlier in the race, including one that collected 13 driversand another that knocked out Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.
The big one hit on Lap 67, when Brian Vickers got loose after bumping Matt Kenseth, triggering a chain-reaction wreck that involved 13 cars and brought out the red flag, not to mention several wreckers — the kind of aggressive racing not normally seen early in the season or early in races.
“They were driving like it was the last lap!” said Clint Bowyer, who was a part of the wreck. “Man, if we keep this up, we’ll only have four cars to end all these races.” The Associated Press
Click Here to Read More:
Interview With NASCAR Cup Race Winner - Jeff Gordon And Crew Chief Alan Gustafson
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix - Race Results
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