Jeff Gordon has put himself back in the fight for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with victory in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400.
The win was the 86th of Gordon’s career but his first since Atlanta last year.
Gordon is now in the fight for an all-important ‘wild card’ spot this reserved for the top two drivers outside the top-10 with race victories.
Gordon was out front when the race was red-flagged for rain on lap 99 of 160 after a thunderstorm hit the track. The start of the race was delayed by nearly two hours because of rain.
Gordon’s team-mate Jimmie Johnson held the lead and appeared to have the dominant car until Kurt Busch crashed on lap 86, bringing out a caution flag under threatening skies.
With rain looming, Johnson held the lead on the lap-91 restart, but caused a crash that changed the complexion of the race.
Johnson was racing Matt Kenseth going into Turn 1 when Johnson got loose and slid into Kenseth. Kenseth spun in heavy traffic and Denny Hamlin slammed into him.
Gordon, who was sixth on the restart, shot around Johnson and Kenseth and into the lead as other drivers dodged the spinning cars.
“I have never seen the seas part like that,” said Gordon.
“The way our year has gone, we’ll definitely take it.”
A better weekend for Australia’s Marcos Ambrose who brought his Ford home in 10th. The result is Ambrose’s fifth top-ten of the season, and puts him in good stead for his return to Watkins Glen next weekend, the scene of his first top-tier NASCAR victory last season.
“We deserved a top-ten today, we had strong pace, and it’s a good reward for the hard work the Stanley team have been putting in lately,” Ambrose said.
“With the rain coming, everyone knew it was going to be a shortened race, and things got pretty crazy out there.
“It’s good to get our groove back ahead of Watkins Glen; I can’t wait to get there.”
Race Results : Pennsylvania 400 | Race 21 of 36
|
FIN |
CAR |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
PTS/BNS |
LAPS |
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 47/1 | 98 |
| 2 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 43/1 | 98 |
| 3 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 41/0 | 98 |
| 4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 41/1 | 98 |
| 5 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot “Back to School” | 39/0 | 98 |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Haas Automation / Quicken Loans | 38/0 | 98 |
| 7 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 37/0 | 98 |
| 8 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 36/0 | 98 |
| 9 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 35/0 | 98 |
| 10 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 34/0 | 98 |
| 11 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Menards / Serta | 33/0 | 98 |
| 12 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 32/0 | 98 |
| 13 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 31/0 | 98 |
| 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 32/2 | 98 |
| 15 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 29/0 | 98 |
| 16 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 0 | 98 |
| 17 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 27/0 | 98 |
| 18 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate | 27/1 | 98 |
| 19 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Automotive Lift Institute | 25/0 | 98 |
| 20 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 25/1 | 98 |
| 21 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | ModSpace | 23/0 | 98 |
| 22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Enersys / Odyssey Battery | 22/0 | 98 |
| 23 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Zest | 22/1 | 98 |
| 24 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | TMone.com | 20/0 | 98 |
| 25 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 19/0 | 98 |
| 26 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 18/0 | 98 |
| 27 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Scott Products | 17/0 | 96 |
| 28 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Taco Bell | 16/0 | 96 |
| 29 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 16/1 | 90 |
| 30 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 15/1 | 84 |
| 31 | 32 | Jason White | Ford | Zaxby’s | 0 | 81 |
| 32 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Diet Mountain Dew / AMP Energy / National Guard | 13/1 | 80 |
| 33 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 11/0 | 74 |
| 34 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 10/0 | 43 |
| 35 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 9/0 | 40 |
| 36 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 0 | 37 |
| 37 | 26 | Josh Wise * | Ford | MDS Transport | 7/0 | 34 |
| 38 | 36 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | @TMone / CRM Hiring Veterans | 6/0 | 31 |
| 39 | 119 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Plinker Tactical | 0 | 29 |
| 40 | 37 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Max Q Motorsports | 4/0 | 27 |
| 41 | 98 | Mike Skinner | Ford | TRAQM.com | 0 | 26 |
| 42 | 191 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | Plinker Tactical | 0 | 10 |
| 43 | 23 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 1/0 | 9 |
* Denotes Rookie
STANDINGS
|
RANK |
+/- |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
BEHIND |
STARTS |
POLES |
WINS |
TOP 5 |
TOP 10 |
| 1 | — | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 744 | Leader | 21 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 15 |
| 2 | — | Matt Kenseth | 739 | -5 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| 3 | — | Greg Biffle | 738 | -6 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
| 4 | — | Jimmie Johnson | 736 | -8 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 |
| 5 | +2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 694 | -50 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | +2 | Tony Stewart | 691 | -53 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| 7 | +2 | Brad Keselowski | 690 | -54 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 |
| 8 | -3 | Denny Hamlin | 683 | -61 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| 9 | -3 | Kevin Harvick | 680 | -64 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | — | Clint Bowyer | 679 | -65 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 |
| 11 | +2 | Kasey Kahne | 622 | -122 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | — | Carl Edwards | 619 | -125 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 13 | +2 | Jeff Gordon | 611 | -133 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 14 | — | Ryan Newman | 611 | -133 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 15 | -4 | Kyle Busch | 599 | -145 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 16 | — | Paul Menard | 597 | -147 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | — | Joey Logano | 575 | -169 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 18 | — | Marcos Ambrose | 553 | -191 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 19 | — | Jamie McMurray | 535 | -209 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 20 | — | Jeff Burton | 527 | -217 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | — | Juan Montoya | 500 | -244 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | — | Aric Almirola | 497 | -247 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | — | Bobby Labonte | 444 | -300 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | — | Regan Smith | 438 | -306 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | +1 | Kurt Busch | 409 | -335 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | +1 | Mark Martin | 406 | -338 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 27 | -2 | AJ Allmendinger | 400 | -344 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 28 | — | Casey Mears | 377 | -367 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | — | David Ragan | 354 | -390 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | — | David Gilliland | 351 | -393 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | — | Travis Kvapil | 324 | -420 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | — | Landon Cassill | 311 | -433 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | +1 | David Reutimann | 283 | -461 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | -1 | Dave Blaney | 276 | -468 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | — | David Stremme | 155 | -589 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | — | Brian Vickers | 135 | -609 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | — | J.J. Yeley | 131 | -613 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | — | Ken Schrader | 100 | -644 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | — | Michael McDowell | 94 | -650 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | — | Josh Wise* | 91 | -653 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | — | Michael Waltrip | 75 | -669 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 42 | +2 | Tony Raines | 67 | -677 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | -1 | Stephen Leicht* | 67 | -677 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | -1 | Terry Labonte | 66 | -678 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | — | Brendan Gaughan | 50 | -694 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | — | Scott Speed | 42 | -702 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | — | Scott Riggs | 35 | -709 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | — | Boris Said | 15 | -729 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | — | Bill Elliott | 14 | -730 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | — | Hermie Sadler | 13 | -731 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | — | Robby Gordon | 11 | -733 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | — | Tomy Drissi | 6 | -738 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | — | Stacy Compton | 5 | -739 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | — | David Mayhew | 4 | -740 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | — | Mike Skinner | 2 | -742 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | +1 | Kelly Bires | 2 | -742 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | -1 | Chris Cook | 2 | -742 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | — | Trevor Bayne | 0 | -744 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 59 | — | Sam Hornish Jr. | 0 | -744 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | — | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | — | Mike Bliss | 0 | -744 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | — | Austin Dillon | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | +1 | Elliott Sadler | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | -1 | Robert Richardson Jr. | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | — | Reed Sorenson | 0 | -744 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | — | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -744 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | — | Danica Patrick | 0 | -744 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | — | Jason White | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | -1 | T.J. Bell | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | -1 | Cole Whitt | 0 | -744 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | -1 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | — | Brian Simo | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | -2 | Tim Andrews | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | -1 | Jeff Green | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | -1 | Mike Wallace | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | -1 | Kenny Wallace | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Denotes Rookie
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