It wasn’t how Jeff Gordon wanted to say goodbye to Sonoma Raceway. Not with a 16th-place finish and myriad of issues that included a poor handling car, a penalty and a flat tire hampering his performance.
Jeff Gordon struggles in final Sonoma start
Jeff Gordon’s final race in front of his home state fans didn’t go as hoped.
Jerry Markland/Getty Images
But that was Gordon’s Sunday in the Toyota/Save Mart 450, his 23rd and final start on the track 20 miles from his hometown of Vallejo, Calif., before he retires at the end of the season.
“Nothing’s going to take away from this weekend for me,” Gordon said. “I know it wasn’t the finish we all wanted, but it was a very memorable weekend.”
Initially it seemed Gordon might challenge for a sixth Sonoma victory, as he ran steadily in the top 10 during the early stages. Except, a chassis setup Gordon had described as a “gamble,” soon proved to be problematic, and he began sliding back when rubber collected on the track.
“I was really optimistic going into the race,” Gordon said. “Our car was good in practice. We qualified well (fifth). They dropped the green and we were moving forward. I was pretty happy with it. (Then), I felt that rear starting to go off pretty early on and saw some guys coming from further back.”
The No. 24 car became so hard to drive crew chief Alan Gustafson called for dramatic changes during an extended Lap 75 caution. But as the team yanked out right-rear spring rubbers, a crewmember tossed one over the pit wall -- a penalty for throwing equipment that required Gordon to restart at the rear of the field.
The chassis adjustments took. Gordon began turning speeds comparable to the leaders and progressed up the running order. With few laps remaining, Gustafson made a strategy decision to attempt to further recoup the lost track position. So, when a caution for Casey Mears’ stalled car came out 10 laps from the finish, he had Gordon not pit while most everyone else stopped.
Gordon would restart third behind Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray on the ensuing restart. Except, on older tires he was a sitting duck for those behind him who had pitted.
“I was just taking some risk on that last pit stop,” Gordon said. “We didn’t have anything to lose at that point.”
As expected, Gordon quickly fell back. And with it, any chance of storybook ending evaporated.
“It’s still a little bit more fun to go to hang out with some of my friends and family here,” Gordon said. “But, I hate that we weren’t a little bit better.”
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