Jeff Gordon wins Phoenix Cup race

Jeff Gordon wins Phoenix Cup race


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(February 27, 2011)

AVONDALE, Ariz.--Jeff Gordon won Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway for his first Sprint Cup Series win since April 2009.
The victory was Gordon’s 83rd and ties him with Cale Yarborough for fifth on the all-time list. Darrell Waltrip is fourth with 84 wins.
Gordon passed Kyle Busch on Lap 304 of 312. Busch had taken the lead from Tony Stewart after the last restart on Lap 291. Gordon passed Stewart on the next lap and methodically cut into Busch’s lead.
“Welcome back, baby. Welcome back,” crew chief Alan Gustafson said as Gordon took the checkered flag.
“That’s why I love racing,” Gordon shouted. “Hell, yeah.”
Gordon had to survive a number of early wrecks, including a 13-car pileup on the backstretch that blocked the track with crippled cars and stopped the action on Lap 67.
Slight contact between Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford and Brian Vickers’ No. 83 Toyota cut Vickers’ left rear tire and ignited a wild wreck that damaged the cars of Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte, Regan Smith, Andy Lally and Robby Gordon.
“We’re all better racecar drivers than this,” a disgusted Bowyer said after the incident. “It’s pretty embarrassing, to be honest with you.”
The wreck occurred eight laps after contact between the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch and the No. 99 Ford of polesitter Carl Edwards sent Edwards into the Turn 3 wall. Edwards, who entered the race with the points lead, was able to return to the race but finished well back.
“I’m not exactly sure what happened,” Edwards said. “I’ll have to talk to Kyle about it. I thought at first he was just frustrated and he turned left to get back in line and he didn’t know I was there. But I watched the tape, and I think he really did get loose. He hit me hard, and I was left with nothing.”
The race ended early for Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne. Forced to a backup car when brake failure caused him to wreck during Friday’s practice, Bayne backed his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 50 after contact from Travis Kvapil’s Ford.
“Either I came up, or he poked his nose in there at the last second on the top of us, getting into (Turn 1), Bayne said. “After that, there was nothing we could do. I tried to stay in the gas and keep it turning, but it just backed into the wall.
“That’s tough, coming off our high at Daytona, to come to this, but we’ve got a great race team behind us. We’ll be back at Vegas (next Sunday).”