Jeff Gordon once was the master of Watkins Glen International. Now, he can’t seem to catch a break at the storied road course.
Relegated to starting 31st after the worst qualifying effort of his career, the four-time Cup champion was making headway despite some damage to his No. 24 Chevy in Monday’s rain-delayed race at Watkins Glen International.
WGI is a road course equivalent of Talladega Superspeedway, always capable of precipitating a big crash. Last year an 11-car pileup in turn 11 caused a 43-minute stoppage. On Monday, a multicar crash involving Gordon and Sam Hornish Jr. on lap 63 brought out a 19-minute red flag. SI.com
Exiting Turn 9 on the 2.45-mile NASCAR circuit, Kasey Kahne forced Sam Hornish off the track and into a tire barrier, causing the No. 77 car to ricochet back into traffic and strike the vehicles of Gordon and Jeff Burton. It was a crash almost identical to one involving Nationwide Series driver Jason Leffler in practice on Friday, and it provided another reminder of just how fast and perilous this track in the picturesque Finger Lakes region can be.
All the drivers involved in Monday’s accident walked away, although Hornish said he banged up his knee and hand, and Gordon’s back—which has been the subject of numerous MRIs and a treatment in May designed to alleviate the pain—emerged as an issue once again.
“I’m hurting,” Gordon admitted. “... It’s not what I needed, you know? You take three or four steps forward to this point, and you take a hit like that and take a couple of steps backward.” NASCAR
In addition to his back, Gordon said he initially was concerned about Hornish, the former Indianapolis 500 and three-time IndyCar Series champion.
“He took a heavy hit into the wall, a heavy hit by me and Jeff Burton,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevy. “I saw him go off into the grass and I knew he was going to come out in front of me and I was just hoping to squeeze by and didn’t make it. Actually I sped up a little bit. I saw him slide off there and I was trying to get off the corner as fast as I could to get by before he got out there. But as soon as I saw him bounce out I knew I was going to hit him. I just braced myself and got on the brakes and waited for the impact.
“Man, I nailed him and spun him around like a top and my car just came to a halt and it really took a toll on my back again. It just made a rough weekend even worse.”
Gordon started a disappointing 31st and finished 37th. He remained third in points behind leader and race-winner Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate. But Gordon’s deficit to Stewart grew from 199 to 342 points with four races remaining before the start of the 10-race Chase. RacinToday.com
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