CUP: Gordon A Strong Second

Sprint Cup

CUP: Gordon A Strong Second

Jeff Gordon had to settle for second place in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway...

Tom Jensen | Posted June 28, 2009 Loudon, NH

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, finished second the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo:Getty Images)

Jeff Gordon probably had the fastest car in Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but at the end of the day, Mother Nature relegated him to the runner-up position behind first-time rookie winner Joey Logano.

Gordon led 65 laps around the 1.058-mile flat oval and was gaining on Logano, who had gambled on fuel mileage and stayed on the track, when rain called a halt to the event with 273 of 301 laps complete.

And while Gordon obviously would have preferred to put his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS in victory lane, it was still a good day for the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, who is second in points.

“I sure would have loved to have given it a shot at the win,” said Gordon, who now has nine top-five finishes, included four second places, in 17 starts this season. “I thought we had it. I didn’t even know the 20 (Logano) was still out there.”

If Gordon was frustrated at the rain shortening the race, he was encouraged with the performance of his car and his team. “It was a phenomenal day in the pits by this whole crew,” said Gordon. “Yesterday, we weren’t very good. (Crew chief) Steve Letarte and all the guys really went to work last night and brought an awesome race car to the track today. It wasn’t good on the restarts, but other than that, it felt like we had the best car.”

Gordon was second to leader Tony Stewart when both drivers pitted on Lap 235, but beat Stewart out of the pits, apparently setting himself up for victory. But a dozen cars stayed out gambling on a combination of good fuel mileage and rain to arrive in New England. Gordon was able to get past all of them, except for Logano, who has able to nurse his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory.

“The guys were really getting it done in the pits today,” Gordon said of his last pit stop. “That’s when I thought (they) got us out first, but they just got us out in front of all the guys we were racing.”

And Gordon harbored no ill will about losing a race to rain. “You’ve got to give credit to the guys on the 20,” he said of Logano’s Joe Gibbs Racing squad. “That was a gutsy call. … It doesn’t matter how you win ‘em. Everybody is out here working as hard as they can for pit stops, fastest race car and making the best calls.”

Results: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

SPRINT CUP SERIES DRIVER POINT STANDINGS

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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Tom Jensen

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