Jeff Gordon takes home his 84th career Cup Series win, putting him 3rd on the all time wins list. Kurt Busch the pole sitter was second, followed by Kyle Busch in 3rd, however the 18 car failed post race inspection for being too low, so expect penalties this week. Carl Edwards points lead dwindled to just 6 over Jimmie Johnson.

Gordon ties Waltrip, Allison with 84th win

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 12, 2011)

LONG POND, Pa. — Jeff Gordon may be starting to feel his age, but he certainly didn’t show it in Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway.

“I’m just so excited to be a part of this sport,” Gordon said in victory lane, after taking the checkered flag 2.965 seconds ahead of runner-up Kurt Busch. “I’m going to be 40 this year (Aug. 4). I’m an old man now.”

Statistically, the old man already is an important part of NASCAR Sprint Cup history. His victory Sunday was his second of the year, his fifth at the tricky 2.5-mile triangular track and the 84th of his career, tying Gordon with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for third on the all-time list.

As NASCAR’s elder statesman and four-time champion later pointed out, the race was won on pit road. The No. 24 Chevrolet crew got Gordon out ahead of Busch on a stop under caution for debris on Lap 156 of 200, enabling Gordon to streak away from eventual seventh-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya after a restart on Lap 160.

During a green-flag stop on Lap 177, the No. 24 crew again performed flawlessly, increasing the cushion Gordon held over Busch.

“If we can just get out front, I think we’ll be OK,” Gordon had told crew chief Alan Gustafson before the Lap 160 pit stop — and that’s exactly what happened.

“You guys won that one in the pits—way to go,” Gordon radioed to his crew after crossing the finish line.

Kyle Busch ran third, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Busch’s No. 18 Toyota, however, failed postrace inspection, with the left front being too low when measured by NASCAR’s height stick. If penalties are forthcoming, they will be announced later in the week.

Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top 10. Series points leader Carl Edwards suffered an engine failure 58 laps into the race and finished 37th. Edwards’ lead in the standings shrank to six points over second-place Johnson and 10 over third-place Earnhardt.

Clean air proved decisive, as Kurt Busch, the polesitter, couldn’t close on Gordon significantly during the final 41-lap green-flag run.

“It was a great, hard-fought battle with Jeff Gordon at the end,” Busch said. “It started about 130 laps in, about 70 to go, where we were able to take the lead, stretch it out. Then there was a caution (the fourth debris caution of the race, on Lap 155). The 24 beat us out of the pits.

“I thought we could gain on him after 15 laps into the run. We were able to do that most of the day. We were able to do that again at the end, but we just couldn’t close the gap far enough. The old ‘Golden Boy’ had it in him today.

“Neither one of us slipped those final few laps. It was just one of those, ‘I’m giving it all I got, and I can’t close the gap.’ ”

Denny Hamlin, a four-time winner at Pocono, led a race-high 76 laps, but a broken valve stem forced him back to the pits after a stop on Lap 160 and relegated him to 19th at the finish. Hamlin lost one position in the standings to 12th, as Gordon jumped past him into 11th, his highest position since winning at Phoenix in the second race of the season.

After a disappointing stretch that started with a crash in Las Vegas in week No. 3, Gordon feels his team is beginning to realize its potential.

“We were embarrassed by the way we were running,” Gordon said. “When I came on board with Alan (the result of a crew chief swap in the offseason), I knew that they were special and amazing. Phoenix came a little sooner than we thought, but I felt like we could do that this year.

“Then we went on a streak where we just weren’t competitive, but what it takes is a team that believes in you, and you believe in them, and you work together to get there. That’s what we did today.”

Race Recap | Pocono
10 Martin Truex Jr
9 Ryan Newman
8 Matt Kenseth
7 Juan Montoya
6 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5 Kevin Harvick
4 Jimmie Johnson
3 Kyle Busch
2 Kurt Busch pole sitter

Victory Lane

1 Jeff Gordon grabs his 84th career win, 5th at Pocono, 2nd of the year,

Other Stories on the day

-Points leader Carl Edwards has engine problems and finished 37th

-Kevin Harvick played some cat and mouse with Kyle Busch early on

-Transmission issues plagued Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, and Marcos Ambrose

-Denny Hamlin dominated this race, led 76 laps, until a flat tire ruined his day

-Greg Biffle spun his 16 machine at the entrance to pit road coming off turn 3

1 22 Kurt Busch Shell / Pennzoil Dodge 52.454 171.579
2 27 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints / Menards Chevrolet 52.502 171.422
3 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 52.524 171.350
4 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 52.578 171.174
5 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 52.581 171.164
6 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg / Cheez-It Ford 52.614 171.057
7 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 52.682 170.836
8 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevrolet 52.776 170.532
9 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 52.833 170.348
10 5 Mark Martin Farmers Insurance / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 52.879 170.200
11 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 52.886 170.177
12 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 52.902 170.126
13 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 52.970 169.907
14 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 52.981 169.872
15 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1 / Office Depot Chevrolet 52.986 169.856
16 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 53.034 169.702
17 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 53.044 169.670
18 47 Bobby Labonte Clorox / Kleenex Toyota 53.064 169.607
19 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 53.091 169.520
20 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 53.097 169.501
21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet 53.114 169.447
22 46 J J Yeley Red Line Oil Chevrolet 53.115 169.444
23 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 53.116 169.440
24 71 Andy Lally # TRG Motorsports Ford 53.138 169.370
25 51 Landon Cassill(i) Security Benefit / Thank A Teacher Chevrolet 53.158 169.307
26 38 Sam Hornish Jr(i) Long John Silver’s Ford 53.167 169.278
27 17 Matt Kenseth Affliction Clothing Live Fast Ford 53.184 169.224
28 43 A J Allmendinger Medallion Financial Ford 53.199 169.176
29 87 Joe Nemechek(i) AM FM Energy.com / Pellet & Wood Toyota 53.201 169.170
30 34 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford 53.217 169.119
31 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 53.219 169.113
32 29 Kevin Harvick Okuma Chevrolet 53.228 169.084
33 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 53.276 168.932
34 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 53.289 168.890
35 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota 53.360 168.666
36 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing LLC Toyota 53.502 168.218
37 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 53.644 167.773
38 37 Tony Raines BlackCatFireworks.com Ford 53.765 167.395
39 81 Scott Riggs(i) Whitney’s Collision Chevrolet 53.807 167.264
40 36 Dave Blaney Golden Corral Chevrolet 53.874 167.056
41 32 Mike Bliss(i) U.S. Chrome / Southern Pride Trucking Ford 53.935 166.868
42 7 Scott Wimmer(i) Speed Energy / Harris Teeter Dodge Owner Points
43 50 T J Bell # Green Smoke Toyota 54.011 166.633