CUP: Gordon Struggles At PIR

Sprint Cup

CUP: Gordon Struggles At PIR

Jeff Gordon had a disappointing 25th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday night...

Tom Jensen | Posted April 19, 2009 Avondale, AZ

Jeff Gordon saw his points lead sliced from 162 to 85 at Phoenix. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Well, at least Jeff Gordon had the consolation of leaving Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500k at Phoenix International Raceway still atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings. But that’s about the only thing good that happened for the four-time champion in the Sonoran desert this weekend.

Gordon, who saw his points lead sliced from 162 to 85 at PIR, had a wide range of problems that included back pain, a dropped lugnut during a pit stop and contact with both Denny Hamlin and John Andretti that resulted in the nose of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet getting bent up. Add it all up and it translated to a 25th-place finish for Gordon, far and away his worst of the year. It was the first time since the season-opening Daytona 500 that Gordon finished worse than sixth in a race.

Asked to pinpoint his problems at PIR, Gordon said it was pretty much everything. “Oh, there were a lot of things that were unfortunate tonight,” he said. “It just wasn’t our night. We struggled. I haven’t been feeling good this weekend. My back is hurting. When you’re feeling like that, you can’t really give good information and feedback to the team. We had some issues in the pits and it was just all around a tough night.”

One race earlier, of course, Gordon was victorious at Texas Motor Speedway for the first time in his career and broke an overall winless streak that extended all the way back to October 2007. But whatever he accomplished at Texas didn’t translate into momentum at PIR, a track that historically has not been his strongest.

“I was just struggling with the car,” said Gordon. “We had some damage. Me and Denny (Hamlin) got together. It was just one of those nights. The No. 55 (Michael Waltrip) and the No. 7 (Robby Gordon) spun out in front of me. The No. 34 (John Andretti), I was trying to pass him and he didn’t know it. It was just one of those crazy nights.”

Aside from the points lead, the only thing Gordon was happy about was the victory by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Mark Martin. That was huge. “I’m really excited about Mark Martin winning tonight,” said Gordon. “I think that’s so cool. We’re so excited about having him at Hendrick Motorsports. I know how bad he wanted to win. He’s got a car and a team that can do it and he’s one driving fool.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE RESULTS: PHOENIX

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

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

Play Super 7 Sweep Fantasy Racing powered by Wind Tunnel!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

JENSEN: The Crew Chief’s Advantage
The Sprint All-Star Race was an interesting affair ...
CUP: New Hall Of Fame Class To Be Announced
The late Curtis Turner is among the nominees to the NASCAR Hall of…
CUP: All-Star Power Rankings
Jimmie Johnson remains atop the FOXSports.com/SPEED.com Power Rankings...…