SCENEDAILY - 11:42PM ET SUNDAY JUNE 24, 2007 - BY SCENEDAILY STAFF REPORT
SONOMA, Calif. - The odds were against Jeff Gordon Sunday at Infineon Raceway. He didn't seem to notice.
Starting 41st with less practice than all of his competitors except teammate Jimmie Johnson, Gordon appeared to be out of contention before the Toyota/Save Mart 350 even started. Gordon and Johnson missed all of Friday's on-track activities after their cars were found to have a rule violation.
But never count out a four-time champion, especially not one who has five wins on this road course. Using pit strategy and sheer skill to battle through the field, Gordon remained calm and patient.
And finished seventh.
"It was a great run," he said. "I thought [crew chief] Steve Letarte and everyone on the [team] just called this race perfectly to come from that far back to a top-10. We had a great car, [and] once we got in some clear air, we made some good lap times.
"We played the strategy the best way we possibly could. We had some cautions fall our way, which was some good fortune for us to gain some spots."
Gordon's final pit stop was a splash-and-go and set up a rather aggressive bumping showdown with Tony Stewart, who eased by Gordon late in the race.
Gordon laughed off the incident. Perhaps that's easy to do when you just became a father less than a week before and when sitting on a 271-point lead in the standings.
"It was fun racing with Tony," he said. " I think he is one of the greats out here. I don't mind if we bump and bang every once in a while as long as we don't crash."
SONOMA, Calif. - The odds were against Jeff Gordon Sunday at Infineon Raceway. He didn't seem to notice.
Starting 41st with less practice than all of his competitors except teammate Jimmie Johnson, Gordon appeared to be out of contention before the Toyota/Save Mart 350 even started. Gordon and Johnson missed all of Friday's on-track activities after their cars were found to have a rule violation.
But never count out a four-time champion, especially not one who has five wins on this road course. Using pit strategy and sheer skill to battle through the field, Gordon remained calm and patient.
And finished seventh.
"It was a great run," he said. "I thought [crew chief] Steve Letarte and everyone on the [team] just called this race perfectly to come from that far back to a top-10. We had a great car, [and] once we got in some clear air, we made some good lap times.
"We played the strategy the best way we possibly could. We had some cautions fall our way, which was some good fortune for us to gain some spots."
Gordon's final pit stop was a splash-and-go and set up a rather aggressive bumping showdown with Tony Stewart, who eased by Gordon late in the race.
Gordon laughed off the incident. Perhaps that's easy to do when you just became a father less than a week before and when sitting on a 271-point lead in the standings.
"It was fun racing with Tony," he said. " I think he is one of the greats out here. I don't mind if we bump and bang every once in a while as long as we don't crash."
