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Jeff Gordon wins record fifth Brickyard 400

 
Jeff Gordon does something not in vogue when he won his first Brickyard 400 in 1994: kisses the bricks at Indianapolis.
Jeff Gordon does something not in vogue when he won his first Brickyard 400 in 1994: kisses the bricks at Indianapolis.
Published July 28, 2014

INDIANAPOLIS — With a tinge of gray hair at his temples, his hat on backward and his two young children by his side, Jeff Gordon celebrated as if he was 23 again.

Gordon won a NASCAR-record fifth Brickyard 400 on Sunday, eight days before his 43rd birthday, on the weekend Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrated the 20th anniversary of his first Brickyard victory and on "Jeff Gordon Day," as declared by Mayor Greg Ballard.

Gordon's first win came before the celebratory kissing of the Yard of Bricks was en vogue, before he became a household name, while Sprint Cup rookies Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon were in diapers. Now a family man with an aching back, Gordon showed he's still at the top of his game.

"If you can do it here, you can do it anywhere," said Gordon, who has led the Sprint Cup standings for 13 of the past 14 weeks. "It's certainly going to be a huge confidence boost for this team. We recognize the significance of this.

"We saw we were points leaders, we won at Kansas (in May), but I don't know if we believed we were capable of winning this championship this year. We do now."

To prove it to himself, his Hendrick Motorsports team and his ardent fan base, Gordon needed a vintage close to the race.

Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne led a race-high 70 laps and seemed to be racing against only his gas tank when a caution with 17 laps left put the race back into Gordon's hands. He'd have one shot at passing Kahne, on a dreaded restart, and nobody was sure if Gordon had it in him.

Gordon has struggled with restarts for several years. And Kahne, winless this year, desperately needed the victory to grab a berth in the Chase for the Championship field.

Kahne picked the lower, inside lane for the restart, and Gordon found himself on the outside and exactly where he wanted to be. Gordon tried to set a quick pace as they headed to the flag, and Kahne tried to slow it in the restart zone.

Gordon shifted into fourth gear and surged past Kahne on the outside, and Gordon kicked it into cruise control as he sailed away for the win.

"I think we both knew that was for the win," Gordon said of Kahne. "Out of nowhere, I have the restart of my life at the most important moment that you could ask for in a race, in a season, at a race like this. That was just awesome."

The win moved Gordon — also the Brickyard winner in 1998, 2001 and '04 — into a tie with Michael Schumacher, whose five Formula One wins at Indy had been the gold standard.

"I told (Gordon) this morning that this was his day," team owner Rick Hendrick said.

Kahne plummeted to fifth after the restart, then ran out of gas on the final lap and nursed his car home to a sixth-place finish. He said he erred in picking the inside line for the restart.

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"I should have chosen the top (lane), obviously," he said. "I pretty much let Jeff control that last restart. I thought I made the right decision."

Kyle Busch finished second, 2.325 seconds behind Gordon, and was followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. NASCAR said Hamlin's car failed the post-race inspection and the parts in question would be taken to North Carolina for a look.

Joey Logano was fifth in the highest-finishing car for Team Penske, which brought Juan Pablo Montoya to the race in an effort to get the win. Roger Penske has won a record 15 Indy 500s but is winless in the Brickyard. Montoya was never a factor and finished 23rd.

Pole-sitter Kevin Harvick was eighth.

Gearhead stats

Winner's average speed: 150.297 mph

Time of race: 2 hours, 39 minutes, 41 seconds

Margin of victory: 2.325 seconds

Caution flags: 4 for 16 laps

Lead changes: 15 among 9 drivers

Lap leaders: K.Harvick 1; J.Gordon 2-21; J.Logano 22-31; K.Kahne 32-37; K.Larson 38-42; A.Dillon 43; D.Hamlin 44-54; K.Harvick 55-65; D.Hamlin 66-72; K.Kahne 73-98; C.Bowyer 99-101; K.Kahne 102-126; J.Gordon 127-129; M.Annett 130; K.Kahne 131-143; J.Gordon 144-160.