After taking his fifth win at the Tricky Triangle, better known as Pocono International Raceway, Jeff Gordon said “I'm going to be 40 but I'm not on the rocking chair yet.”
With his second NASCAR Cup win of the year he’s now tied with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for third place on the all-time win list with 84 victories.
"I can't express in words what it means to tie…” for third.
“I'll put this win in perspective of the great Mark Martin. These days, you never know when it's going to be your last win,” he said.
Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, had gone in a drought for a while, but has bounced back this year. Although he’s 11th in the standings his two wins makes him a candidate for one of the two Wild Cards for the Championship Cup race.
“In some ways, I'm glad I went through this... I don't want to call it a down cycle. Life's still been pretty good for me. But we were living at the peak of the mountain for years. And now I have a better appreciation for it. You can't understand that until you go through the valley.”
Polesitter Kurt Busch came in second in his backup said “the old boy Jeff Gordon had it in him today. We ran him strong, we ran him hard.”
Kyle Busch was third but his Toyota failed post-race inspection – too low on the left front - and will likely be penalized after the car is taken back to NASCAR R & D in Concord, NC.
Denny Hamlin a favorite in Pocono was headed for the victory until a flat tire ended his day as he explained “when it did that, it sheared the tire and wrapped it around the housing and broke the brakes lines so I had no brakes -- it was just a slew of problems there at the end.”
Gordon showed he still is feisty, stating: “I don't just want to be in the Chase. At 40 yrs old that's not enough. This is too good of a team. I'll be letting them down if we only make Chase. I want to be a threat for the championship.”
Ron Hornaday Jr. won the Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night, after race leader, Johnny Sauter, was black flagged for an improper lane change on the last restart in Texas.
With his second NASCAR Cup win of the year he’s now tied with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for third place on the all-time win list with 84 victories.
"I can't express in words what it means to tie…” for third.
“I'll put this win in perspective of the great Mark Martin. These days, you never know when it's going to be your last win,” he said.
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| Jeff Gordon (24) battling with Juan Pablo Montoya (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR) |
Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, had gone in a drought for a while, but has bounced back this year. Although he’s 11th in the standings his two wins makes him a candidate for one of the two Wild Cards for the Championship Cup race.
“In some ways, I'm glad I went through this... I don't want to call it a down cycle. Life's still been pretty good for me. But we were living at the peak of the mountain for years. And now I have a better appreciation for it. You can't understand that until you go through the valley.”
Polesitter Kurt Busch came in second in his backup said “the old boy Jeff Gordon had it in him today. We ran him strong, we ran him hard.”
Kyle Busch was third but his Toyota failed post-race inspection – too low on the left front - and will likely be penalized after the car is taken back to NASCAR R & D in Concord, NC.
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| Jeff Gordon (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR) |
Denny Hamlin a favorite in Pocono was headed for the victory until a flat tire ended his day as he explained “when it did that, it sheared the tire and wrapped it around the housing and broke the brakes lines so I had no brakes -- it was just a slew of problems there at the end.”
Gordon showed he still is feisty, stating: “I don't just want to be in the Chase. At 40 yrs old that's not enough. This is too good of a team. I'll be letting them down if we only make Chase. I want to be a threat for the championship.”
Ron Hornaday Jr. won the Camping World Truck Series race on Friday night, after race leader, Johnny Sauter, was black flagged for an improper lane change on the last restart in Texas.