NASCAR: Jeff Gordon Reigns Supreme - Finally - at Phoenix

With the win, Gordon extended his lead over Jeff Burton in the championship standings to 74 points.

Photo courtesy: phoenixintlraceway.com

PHOENIX - Advocates of NASCAR's innovative Car of Tomorrow have lauded the machine's enlarged driver cockpit since the early days of its planning.

For Jeff Gordon at Phoenix International Raceway during the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™, the extra room turned out to be a good thing. Where else would Lady Luck sit?

While skill was certainly a great factor in each of Jeff Gordon's first 75 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series wins, there's no reason to think that a little bit of good fortune didn't come in to play a few times.

Under the lights at PIR, a timely caution played a huge role in lifting Gordon to his 76th victory, won by a 0.649-second margin over runner-up Tony Stewart.

No pole-sitter had won in the previous 21 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events at Phoenix International Raceway, and with Stewart working on his 71st consecutive lap led on Lap 284, it looked like the trend would continue into Race 22.

As Gordon pitted early under a green flag, an altercation between an indecisive Dave Blaney and Carl Edwards near the entrance to pit road led to a caution, allowing the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet to advance ahead of all opponents and take the lead at Lap 287.

Great side-by-side racing - and a daring pass directly between Gordon and Martin Truex Jr. - gave Stewart the advantage for one lap just a dozen circuits later, but Gordon took over for good at Lap 300 and rode to his first win in 17 tries on the one-mile Phoenix oval.

In perhaps the most memorable moment of victory since Alan Kulwicki's emotional "Polish Victory Lap" in PIR's inaugural Cup race in 1988, Gordon celebrated by holding a large flag emblazoned with a 3 out of his driver's side window.

The flag was a tribute to the late Dale Earnhardt, whose mark of 76 wins Gordon tied with his Phoenix victory.

Just Richard Petty (200), David Pearson (105), Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip (84), and Cale Yarborough (83) have visited Victory Lane more often than Gordon and Earnhardt.

"To honor him in that way really means a lot to me," Gordon said in Gatorade Victory Lane. "To even be close to Dale in anything means a lot. We've been holding that flag for a long time.

"I'm just overwhelmed right now. I can't believe we finally won at Phoenix. We've been workin' hard - 15 years - to get this win."

The 35-year-old Gordon led the opening 28 laps but was overtaken by a superior Denny Hamlin, who later suffered a penalty for speeding on pit road.

Hamlin would eventually rebound with a third-place finish, but the infraction initially sent him back to the 31st position, putting a severe damper on the night for the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet.

Kevin Harvick looked like a likely three-peat candidate, taking the lead after Hamlin's mishap and holding it until approximately the race's halfway point. From there, Stewart had the top car - until Gordon's fortunate stroke of luck.

The race may have shown something about the Car of Tomorrow: that its drivers have learned a thing or two about handling, even on an oval as tricky as PIR. Just six cautions slowed the field, four of which were simply for debris on the track. In the end, all 43 cars remained running.

Only Kyle Petty's lead on Lap 39 kept Chevrolet from complete domination of the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™.

Team Bowtie won its fourth consecutive NEXTEL Cup Series race at PIR in a controlling fashion, leading 311 of the 312 laps, by far a new standard in the desert.

Defending series champion Jimmie Johnson finished fourth, and Matt Kenseth finished fifth. Harvick ended up tenth after his 2006 sweep of PIR's NEXTEL Cup slate.

With the win, Gordon extended his lead over Jeff Burton in the championship standings to 74 points.

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