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Doubly good day June 26: Jeff Gordon talks about winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup race and getting engaged. |
SONOMA, Calif. - Even for a guy who has won as many races as Jeff Gordon, Sunday’s victory at Infineon Raceway was like a life preserver to a drowning man.
“I can’t even describe the emotions of winning today because it’s been a while,” Gordon said after parlaying patience and a fast car into a record ninth road course victory. “It’s a relief.
“It’s so important to get that first win because, as the season goes on, you just feel more and more pressure,” added the four-time NASCAR champion.
NASCAR’s top “Road Warrior,” who had not won since last October at Martinsville, started 11th in the 43-car field and took the lead for the first time on lap 49 of the 110-lap Dodge/Save Mart 350. In the end, he led a race-high 44 laps and wrapped up his fifth Sonoma win and the 74th of his career.
Gordon, who also announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Ingrid Vandebosch on Sunday, said he choked up in the car after taking the checkered flag.
“You know, I guess it suddenly hit me everything that was going on,” Gordon said. “I had gone 30 days without telling anybody about the engagement, so I had been holding that in, and it’s been a long time since we got that last win. Everything all just came together this weekend.”
Perhaps most important, the victory also vaulted Gordon back into the top 10 in points with just 10 races until the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship begins. The top 10 drivers in the points after the 26th race of the season are eligible for the 10-race playoff.
Last year, Gordon struggled, failing to qualify for the Chase and switching crew chiefs, with Steve Letarte replacing Robbie Loomis for the last 10 races. Gordon promised his fans and the team he was going to bounce back, but they went 16 races into the 2006 season before getting that first victory, only the third time since he came into NASCAR’s top series full-time in 1993 that Gordon has gone that long without a win.
But, somehow, he knew that was going to change on Sunday.
“I called Steve this morning and told him two things: ‘I’m engaged and we’re going to win today.’ That felt pretty good.” Gordon said.
Two-time series champion Terry Labonte grabbed the lead for a while with a slick fuel strategy, but Gordon was able to hunt NASCAR’s “Iceman” down, regain the lead on lap 88 and eventually pull away for his first win since June 2004 on the picturesque 1.99-mile, 11-turn circuit.
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
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