Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Jeff Gordon fought back from a late slip to pass Kyle Busch with eight laps to go to win the Subway 500 at Phoenix International Raceway and end a victory lane drought that lasted almost two years.
Gordon dominated the last half of the race and led 138 of the 312 laps-- the most of anyone -- but a slow exit on the final pit stop cost him the lead to Busch. But Gordon had the faster car, and he relentlessly tracked down Busch, taking the lead coming out of the fourth turn and down the frontstretch with just a few miles to go.
It was Gordon's first victory in 66 races -- almost two years -- and it breaks the longest streak of futility in a storied career that features four Sprint Cup championships. . And it came in only his second race with a new crew chief, Alan Gustafson, after team owner Rick Hendrick decided to shake up the driver-crew chief combinations during the off-season.
With a yelp of delight we haven't heard in months, Gordon gave a ya-hoo and shouted, "You guys are awesome!" as he took the checkered flag.
"Welcome back, welcome back," said Gustafson. "Awesome job."
Moments later, Hendrick got on the radio with his own congratulations.
"Thanks so much, boss," Gordon replied. "Thank you sooo much for this opportunity. I'm loving these guys."
The race was slowed by eight yellow flags, especially toward the beginning of the race, including one for a multi-car crash that took out pole winner Carl Edwards and a number of other good cars.
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