Bad pit stop costs Gordon

<p>SONOMA – The average fan doesn’t have Jeff Gordon’s talent, or wallet, or model wife, but they can relate to the sinking feeling the NASCAR legend had Sunday afternoon.</p><p>On lap 53 of the 110-lap Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, the course Gordon has made his own Shangri-La, the five-time champion knew he was entering pit row pushing the limits of NASCAR’s allowed speed limit.</p><p>A moment later, Gordon discovered that he had pushed too far and had entered at 40.07 miles per hour, just a tick over the 40-mph limit in the pits.</p><p>Like a driver seeing flashing lights in his rearview mirror, Gordon immediately knew the consequences would be severe.</p><p>Instead of running 15th and staying in contention, Gordon was sent to the back of the 43-driver field.</p><p>A driver with over $101 million in career earnings, Gordon would have happily accepted a $158 ticket instead.</p><p>His bid for a sixth title at Infineon, he knew, was over.</p><p>“I felt like I pretty much counted us out of it,” Gordon said. “At that point it was really just how to do get the best possible finish you can. You don’t think realistically you can get a win.”</p><p>Gordon was still able to flex his road-course-racing chops – he leapfrogged most of the field and finished ninth – but unlike so many other years in Sonoma, he drove in anonymity.</p><p>Gordon, 37, Infineon’s all-time leader in wins, poles, laps led and career earnings, has also celebrated personal milestones here, about 15 miles from his hometown of Vallejo.</p><p>Three years ago, Gordon announced his engagement to his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, after winning at Infineon. Two years ago, his daughter, Ella, was born four days before the race here.</p><p>This past weekend, however, will likely slip into obscurity, just another stop in his 561-race career.</p><p>But with his ninth-place finish, Gordon did manage to bolster his stunning resume at Infineon. In his past 15 starts at the track, he’s finished inside the top 10 on 13 occasions.</p><p>And he might not have ever worked harder for a top-10 here than he did Sunday.</p><p>“(After being sent to the back of the field) you don’t realistically think you can get in the top 10,” Gordon said. “But that didn’t stop me from pushing and fighting, finding holes and taking advantage of opportunities.”</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com</p>