Hard crash eliminates Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth

BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 17: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 The Home Depot/Husky Toyota, are involved in an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 17: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 The Home Depot/Husky Toyota, are involved in an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee.  (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN – MARCH 17: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, and Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 The Home Depot/Husky Toyota, are involved in an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Although he is an accomplished master at NASCAR’s short tracks, Jeff Gordon has not won at Bristol Motor Speedway since 2005. For a time during Sunday’s Food City 500, it looked as though Gordon might finally break into the win column. It wasn’t to be however as Gordon suffered the same fate as several others late in the going.

From his 11th place starting position, Gordon was able to race his way into second by lap 95 of the 500. But he began to fade. Crew chief Alan Gustafson elected to take only two tires on a pit stop during a caution period on lap 322. That move put Gordon into the lead but would ultimately prove disastrous.

Gordon held the lead until lap 389 when the right front tire on his Chevy let go. The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car shot into the outside wall.  MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.