Late crash KOs Jeff Gordon again

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

It’s safe to say Jeff Gordon’s retirement tour has not gone according to plan.

A week ago in the Daytona 500, Gordon was involved in the wreck that forced the race to end under caution and finished 33rd.

On Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his fortunes took a turn for the worse. Gordon was collateral damage in a Lap 257 crash that started with Denny Hamlin’s spin. The No. 24 Chevrolet collided with a section of concrete wall on the inside of the backstretch, and Gordon’s race was over.

Credited with a 41st-place finish, the four-time premier series champion heads for next Sunday’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway tied for 35th in the standings, 72 points behind series leader Joey Logano.

“I saw the No. 11 (Hamlin) going sideways,” Gordon said of the wreck that knocked him out of the race. “I had him cleared. I stood on the gas and went by him, but I guess he might have clipped the No. 1 (Jamie McMurray), and it turned the No. 1 back into me. After that I was just along for the ride. It looks like maybe the No. 31 (Ryan Newman) came down in trying to avoid the No. 11 and got into the No. 1 and then he clipped me in the left rear and sent me down the back straightaway.

“It wouldn’t have been too bad except that I found that one spot where there’s no SAFER barrier,” Gordon continued. “I can’t believe it. That’s amazing to me. Anyway, hopefully soon that will get fixed. It was a pretty big impact. I hate it for this team. We were struggling. We didn’t have the 3M Chevrolet that I thought we were going to have, but we weren’t giving up on it. We were going to make gains, and we finally got ourselves in the top 10, and I think we had a shot of getting into the top five. But, obviously, it’s not the way we want to start our season.”

NASCAR Wire Service
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