Gordon suffers back injury at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.—Jeff Gordon once was the master of Watkins Glen International. Now, he can’t seem to catch a break at the storied road course, or keep his back from hurting.

Relegated to starting 31st after the worst qualifying effort of his career, the four-time Cup champion was making headway despite some damage to his No. 24 Chevy in yesterday’s rain-delayed race at Watkins Glen International.

WGI is a road course equivalent of Talladega Superspeedway, always capable of precipitating a big crash. Last year an 11-car pileup in Turn 11 caused a 43-minute stoppage. Yesterday, a multicar crash involving Gordon and Sam Hornish Jr. on Lap 63 brought out a 19-minute red flag.

Kasey Kahne caused it when he dived inside Hornish coming out of Turn 9 and sent Hornish off onto the grass on the left side. Hornish’s No. 77 Dodge caromed off a tire barrier and back onto the track, and Gordon’s No. 24 Chevy slammed head-on into it, spinning violently around into the guard rail lining the track.

Both Gordon and Hornish climbed from their cars and were uninjured.

“It’s just not what I needed,“ said Gordon, who suffers from chronic back pain. “You take three or four steps forward, take a hit like that, and take a couple back. I knew he was going to ricochet off. I just hoped I could get by him.

“It took a toll on my back again,“ Gordon said. “If we were going to Bristol next week, I’d be concerned. Every time I take a hit, it seems to recover. We’ll be all right.“

Gordon completed 61 of 90 laps and finished 37th, his first DNF of the season, and remains third in the standings.

A race to forget for Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports had a rough day.

Jimmie Johnson started on the pole seeking the first road course victory of his impressive career and finished 12th. Mark Martin started 28th and finished 23rd. And Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. started even deeper in the field, were involved in crashes, and finished 37th and 39th.

Heck, Johnson didn’t even lead the first lap—Kurt Busch passed him on the first turn of the race—and spun out once on his own.

“We are getting smarter, and I’m learning a lot,“ said Johnson, who did lead once, for four laps. “We fought hard and we got our first pole, so we had some bright spots.“

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have yet to win in 16 road races.

Race for the Chase coming to a close
Just four races remain before the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship begins at Loudon, N.H. Only the top 12 drivers in points qualify, and all eyes were on the leader board after yesterday’s race.

Kyle Busch entered the race in 13th place and left in 13th, but he gained 44 points on 12th-place Matt Kenseth.

Kenseth entered the day in 11th, a point ahead of Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle, whose fifth-place finish bumped him up to 10th, two points ahead of Mark Martin.