Paul Menard stretched his fuel mileage and held off a charging Jeff Gordon to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The victory was Menard’s first as a Sprint Cup driver, and it has catapulted him into contention for a wildcard entry into the Chase.

Gordon, who closed rapidly in the final five laps, crossed the finish line 0.725s behind the season’s fourth first-time winner.

Regan Smith, who claimed his first career victory at Darlington earlier this year, came home third, followed by last year’s Brickyard 400 winner Jamie McMurray.

Matt Kenseth ran fifth, and Tony Stewart salvaged a sixth-place result despite a litany of problems throughout the race.

Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch completed the top 10.

Australian Marcos Ambrose was classified 34th after suffering from gearbox problems.

“It’s a shame we had the gearbox problem, we had overcome some earlier problems to put ourselves back into contention,” Ambrose said, who now sits 22nd in the standings.

“The race was decided on fuel consumption, and I think we would have had something for them at the finish.

“We’ll bounce back from this, Pocono next week will be a good track for us, and I can’t wait to get out there.”

RESULTS: BRICKYARD 400