Jeff Gordon overcame early adversity to fend off a late-race charge by Tony Stewart and win Monday’s rain-delayed Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It was his second straight Winston Cup victory, the 64th of his career and his sixth straight top-five finish.
While Gordon’s Chevrolet team showed it might be regaining its championship form, Matt Kenseth and his crew showed they’re worthy of the 2003 Winston Cup title to which they’re getting closer. Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford overcame a fender-bender on Lap 45 and a broken exhaust header to finish 11th and boost his points lead over runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. with three races left.
“We did all we could with what we had,” said Kenseth, who leads by 258 points. “We certainly didn’t run very good, but overall, looking at the points thing, everything was a great day for us.”
Kevin Harvick finished 20th after being swept up in a spin by Dave Blaney on Lap 200 of 325 and dropped to third in the standings, four points behind Earnhardt, who finished sixth.
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Harvick wouldn’t talk after the race other than to say, “It’s over.”
All Kenseth needs to do is finish 21st in the final three races and the championship is his.
Stewart, whose Chevy was the dominant car Monday, lost his chance to win because of two slow pit stops but still finished second over Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte.
On the race’s final 101-lap green-flag run, Stewart started 16th–he was second before his pit stop–but had moved to fourth when he made his final stop on Lap 286. This time his crew came through with a quick stop, and he rejoined the race in second place, but he was unable to pass Gordon.
The battle ended abruptly and prematurely with three laps to go. Earnhardt and Ryan Newman collided on the backstretch with Newman’s No. 12 Dodge slamming into the wall.
When the caution flag was thrown for Newman’s wreck, all racing stopped as per NASCAR’s new yellow-flag rules, so Gordon simply idled around for the final three laps.
For the 50,000 or so fans who returned Monday for the final 439 miles, it was a disappointing, but seemingly appropriate, end to a race that never seemed to generate the usual level of excitement.
Gordon disagreed.
“It was a great race between four or five of us,” he said. “It was an awesome battle.”
He also said his No. 24 team is poised to make a run for points runner-up this year–he’s 38 points out of second place–and for the championship in 2004.
“What we’re trying to do right now is build momentum for next year,” said Gordon, who has won four championships.