Jeff Gordon crashes in final Brickyard 400 start (Video)
INDIANAPOLIS – Jeff Gordon's hopes of a sixth Brickyard 400 win in his 22nd and final start in the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway disappeared after a crash on a lap 50 restart.
Clint Bowyer spun in turn three and Gordon was collected in the aftermath. His car spun around too and nosed the outside wall before coming to a complete stop. While it wasn't a hard hit, the damage was still fairly substantial. And with the demands placed on having an aerodynamically efficient car, a win was immediately out of the question.
"I was underneath Kasey Kahne and we were just racing for position," Gordon said in the garage while his car was being repaired. "I saw Bowyer get sideways. I don’t know what caused it. Me and Kasey were trying to check up to avoid it. I don’t know if he got loose or we just both got loose together. Then I just lost control and got in the wall.”
After his team attempted to repair the damage on pit road, Gordon was forced to go to the garage so his crew could make more substantial repairs. He returned again to the track but finished 42nd, 54 laps down.
The four-time Sprint Cup Series champion is retiring at the end of the 2015 season and moving to the broadcast booth for 2016. He became the first driver to win five Brickyard 400s with his win in 2014. He also won the first Brickyard 400 in 1994.
Though he's a California native, Gordon is a beloved figure in Indiana. His family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana, when he was a teenager to help his racing career. Pittsboro even held a parade and honored him on Thursday.
And while crashing in his final start is a cruel way to end his Indianapolis career, it's especially cruel when you consider the circumstances of the caution flag that necessitated the restart. The first yellow flag of the day was called on lap 44 when there were balloons on the backstretch.
Yes, really. The track released balloons before the green flag and apparently some of the batch meandered down to the backstretch over the first quarter of the race. And once they made it to the track, NASCAR felt the need to call a caution.
"My memories are always going to be spectacular," Gordon said after the race of Indy. "I am very upbeat about Indianapolis. Some of the greatest memories of my life are here at Indianapolis starting with the inaugural Brickyard 400. There were too many good ones that won't get overshadowed by a race like today. The whole week and weekend has been incredible.
"The parade the Speedway put on and Pittsboro, Indiana put on – that's a highlight for me that I will never forget and to follow that up with the incredible support I got when I got here to the track and today. It was amazing and I know that makes it even that much more difficult to handle when you have a poor finish like that but I can't thank the fans enough for the last 22 years."
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
