DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum J. Gordon wins @ Phoenix/Ties Earnhardt 4 career wins

Not much else to say...because it's so early in the season, right Pit?



On a mission....I told ya they are on a mission. It would probably be best if everyone just got the hell out of the road....this won't take long. Only 4 drivers are within 300 points of the leader!

No one has a chance until they re-set the points in their misguided manner come the last 10 races....

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Gordon lucky and good in tying Earnhardt for wins
Four-time champ's first victory at PIR is 76th of career
By Mike Harris, The Associated Press
April 22, 2007
02:43 AM EDT
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team has kept a flag bearing the Dale Earnhardt's famed No. 3 in its hauler since this past July, just awaiting Jeff Gordon's next Cup Series victory.

It was a long wait, but the crew was finally able to break out the flag Saturday night after Gordon, getting a little luck and making a gutsy pass for the lead, grabbed that historic victory at Phoenix International Raceway.

The win by the four-time series champion tied Earnhardt for sixth place on the career victory list with 76 and was also his first on the 1-mile Phoenix oval, leaving only Texas and Homestead as active tracks where he has yet to find Victory Lane.

After ending the 26-race victory drought, Gordon stopped on the front straightaway to pick up the black, red and white Earnhardt flag, holding it proudly out the window for his slow victory lap as the big crowd paid homage to both Gordon and seven-time champion Earnhardt.

"It means the world," Gordon said. "Holding that 3 flag, it's certainly by no means saying we're as good as him. I learned so much from him. We wanted to honor him. We've been holding on to that flag for a long time."

One of the first drivers to congratulate Gordon in Victory Lane was Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"That means the world to me because I didn't want to come across the wrong way," Gordon said. "We wanted to show tribute and honor."

Gordon started from the pole and led early, but he spent most of the 312-lap race following Tony Stewart, who appeared to be on the way to an easy victory.

As the leaders began a series of green-flag pit stops late in the race, Gordon drove onto pit road at the end of Lap 283. As he drove slowly toward his pit at the end of pit road, a three-car crash brought out the yellow flag.

The timing was perfect for Gordon, who was able to finish his pit stop and head back toward the track before leader Stewart came back to the finish line, thereby keeping Gordon on the lead lap.

When all the other leaders pitted under the caution flag, Gordon stayed on track and took the lead.

Once the green flag came back out on Lap 294, Stewart tried desperately to regain the top spot. As Gordon struggled to get by Martin Truex Jr., who had pitted before the yellow and was on the end of the lead lap, Stewart saw his chance.

On Lap 299, Stewart squeezed his Chevrolet between Gordon and Truex and somehow drove to the lead. But Gordon wouldn't quit, staying on Stewart's rear bumper and then driving under him to regain the lead for good on Lap 300.

"I drove my guts out," Gordon said. "I've never had to work so hard."

Gordon pulled away to finish about six car-lengths ahead of Stewart.

Hendrick cars have now won five of eight races this year and Gordon, who joined teammates Jimmie Johnson (three) and Kyle Busch (one) as a winner in 2007, is off to one of the best starts of his career with six top-five finishes and seven top-10s.

"We didn't lead a ton, but we had a good car," said Gordon, who led 53 laps. "It all did fall in our lap.

"I almost drove through the pit. [Crew chief] Steve [Letarte] made the call [to stop] and I love him. He's as sharp as can be. He's so cool under pressure."

The disappointed Stewart, who led a race-high 132 laps, said, "I felt like the second half of the race we had a good car."

Denny Hamlin may have had the best car on the track Saturday. He led 70 laps and was still out ahead when he was caught speeding entering pit road on Lap 99. Hamlin was penalized to the back of the longest line (31st) for the restart on Lap 104.

That didn't slow him much. Hamlin charged back into contention and finished third.

It was the third race for NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow and its first test on a track longer than a half mile. Hamlin wasn't impressed with the bigger, bulkier car.

"If that was the point of it, to make it more competitive for everyone, the mission failed, in my opinion," Hamlin said. "I don't know how we're going to run these cars on bigger tracks without further changes."

Johnson finished fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth, Jeff Green and Busch.

Kevin Harvick, who won both Cup races in Phoenix last year, led some laps early and wound up 10th.


Find this article at:
http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/04/22/jgordon.wins.phoenix.ap/index.html

I listen mostly to the 24's radio yesterday on Sirius. They said "we have a special flag over here. You still wanna do it?"

It was no little flag.

I'm guessing by the end of the season there will be few fans booing Gordon. A few weeks ago I found a beauutiful Pit Crew shirt on ebay & bought it. I know a HOFer when I see one Hell I boo'd senior. Not many will admit to that anymore.



Great race! Last 20 laps awsome. I wonder if Tony's talking yet?

One of my first memories of watching nascar was the bristol race - dunno what year - when Sr. took out Terry Labonte on the last lap. I never cared for him - and I don't mean that in a bad/disrespectful way. We all like someone, or maybe 2 or 3 drivers, then there are a bunch we don't care about, and then there are a few we dislike, and then there's Gordon.

WoooHoooooo JEFF!!!!!!

Alot of people have amnesia about the laps before that, too, when Labonte was all over Sr. before making the pass. In fact, he bumped Sr. almost an entire lap and then banged into the side of him making the pass. Funny how that was always ignored by the Sr. haters, though.

That's what I loved about Sr., though. If he spun somebody, he admitted it and just went on. If he got spun out, he didn't whine like the Rainbow Whiner. He just said "I wrecked" and remembered it for later on. In other words, he manned up.

Dead on, Kingo. Not only has Gordon perfected it, but he's taught the whining to Jimmie Johnson. There are so many times when they wreck someone it's just one of those "racin deals", but when it happens to them the driver doesn't "belong on a track". It's the sense of entitlement that makes people despise them.

So I see I am not the only person who remembers the final laps of that race vividly. Terry moved quite a few people to get to Earnhardt so he could be in position to win. He basically attached his car to Earnhardt's for a lap before moving him. In the end he got what was coming to him. Reminds me of that old saying "You mess with the bull you get the horns". What I am amazed at is how Big E kept the car of the wall and out of trouble with Labonte doing everything in his power to move him. But when Labonte gets what is a comparatively small shot he loses control and wrecks. Earnhardt had the greatest car control I have ever seen.

You're absolutely right. Sr. kept control of his car while being knocked around the track for several laps. Labonte got touched and lost it. The difference, Sr's control of his car. He could get more out a bad car than many could with a good car. As his father said, it's not the one with the fastest car, it's the one that refuses to lose. Sr. lived that.

The race that always sticks out to me is his last victory at Talladega. 21st with two laps to go and then pulling Kenny Wallace with him for the victory. I was sure his day was over when I saw the rundown but I still had hope. The most exciting two laps ever if you were an Earnhardt fan. I also remember an incident with Mayfield at Pocono. Mayfield hit him in the middle of turn 3 and he kept it off the wall and finished fourth. Afterwards he remarked that it was just racing and there was nothing to cry about.

As someone who has gone to every Bristol Race except one since 1992 and a SR fan since 1979, I recall the Earnhardt Labonte incident very well. I also have it on tape.

In that race Labonte went into the pits to get new tires after a DW spin since he was one of only a few cars left on the lead lap. Everyone else's tires were worn and Terry was blowing by people like they were standing still. HE came up to Sr. easily, and hit him TWICE trying to get around him. As they came out of 4, approaching the white flag, Terry was inside of Dale and bashed Dale's driver side pretty good and went around him into turn one clear of Dale.

Here is where the SR. haters can kiss me butt. HOW DID DALE CATCH A CAR SO MUCH FASTER? Answer: Terry overdrove the car into one, drifted way up in two and Dale stuck low knowing he would get a run on him. He got to his bumper as Terry came down and gave it a kiss. Blame TL for not controlling his speed on this one; not SR. Dale KNEW how to win and did what he had to do to win.

As a side note, Jeff Gordon spun Rusty Wallace out twice on last laps at Bristol (spring race on the last turn, and once in the night race) to win...

Simple fact of the matter is that when Gordon is all done he will have crushed all of Sr. records. The old hillbilly could drive but really, he couldn't hold Gordons jock at the end of the day. Sad but true my redneck brethren. Furthermore Gordon will do it all in a much faster time period proving he is and will always be a more succesful driver. Numbers don't lie boys.

Problem is Ire,it's not the same game OR the same rules.

NASCAR has gone the way of political correctness. Bump toop hard? You get fined. Oh,and don't bump in the curves! You'll get fined or possibly points deducted.

You'll NEVER see people beat and bang like they used to. And in reality,it's a two way street. I mean Gordon could build a points lead NOBODY could TOUCH! But guess what? With "The Chases"? His entire season could be washed away by anyone in the chase having a "hot hand" at the end of the season.

So Gordon doesn't have to "prove" he can bang and beat up cars and "fight out" wins. All he needs is the fastest car. Used to,with a good car (not the fastest) you could outdrive your competition and whoever could bend em' up and bang it out the best,came out on top. That's not the same kind of racing we have now.

And as I stated,Gordon can have the best three fourths of a season in NASCAR history,but it makes NO difference anymore. It's all about the last twelve races. If he's not the BEST in those last twelve? Everything else is irrelivent.

I'm not sure I care much for either of those changes. But that's the way it is..................

As PitDawg says it is not the same nascar. To be the best you simply have to buy the best and have decent talent behind the wheel. How the car performs aerodynamically is more important than ever. Earnhardt could take a care that had no right being in the top 30 and drive it to a top 10. It is uncanny how Jimmy Johnson and his team are able to do the same thing on most weekends. I would have to throw in Kenseth and his team into that group also. Gordon is not able to pull this off consistently. If his car is junk you see him near the end of the lead lap and complaining about it.

I look at Gordon and Earnhardt the way I look at Payton and Brown. Payton broke a few of Brown's records but he is still number 2 in my mind. Just because you have a record does not make you the greatest. Your impact on the sport and its fans need to be measured as well. Petty is the King and Gordon is the Rainbow Warrior but nobody was better or did more for Nascar than the Intimidator.

Gordon sucks. I still have him on my fantasy team.