NASCAR: Gordon’s ’stache not so lucky
By Tina Akouris takouris@suntimes.com September 16, 2012 8:50PM
Gordon
Updated: October 18, 2012 6:12AM
The ’stache isn’t giving Jeff Gordon the luck he was hoping for when the Chase for the Sprint Cup started Sunday in the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet.
Gordon was having a decent run until he hit the wall in turns one and two with 80 laps to go. Driving past the pits, Gordon took his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet straight to the garage. Gordon was running fourth when he wrecked the right side of his race car.
Gordon climbed out of the car and crew members feverishly went to work, trying to get the banged-up car back out on the track.
“The return spring broke, and it didn’t come all the way back and it was just enough to where I locked the brakes up and I got into the wall,” Gordon said. “We had to fight hard to come back from 19th and get up in the top five. The car was feeling really good, and I think we were a couple adjustments away from making it a winning race car.”
Gordon was able to go back out with nine laps to go, but was 69 laps behind the leader, Brad Keselowski. He finished 35th and completed 190 of the race’s 267 laps.
It was an inauspicious start to the Chase for Gordon, who turned to a playoff-type moustache for luck.
The four-time NASCAR champion grew back his moustache after earning the final wild card spot at Richmond last week. Gordon was famous for his moustache early in his career, back in the 1990s when he was dubbed “Wonder Boy.”
Before getting that wild card spot, Gordon was in danger of missing the Chase for only the second time in his career, the first time being in 2005.
“After Richmond we know how hard we have to fight for every position,” Gordon said. “When the car is there and you can drive it hard like that, it makes it fun for me and it allows us to do what people feel like we’re known for over the years.
“We’ll be driving it hard now, I can tell you that.”
