Tony Stewart Pushes Jeff Gordon to Talladega Victory

Dave Blaney finished third, followed by Denny Hamlin in fourth, Newman fifth, Casey Mears sixth, Busch seventh, Stewart eighth, Tony Raines ninth and Reed Sorenson 10th.

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon locked in a battle earlier this year. Photo courtesy: NASCAR.com

TALLADEGA, Ala. - It took an unexpected move to put Jeff Gordon back in a familiar place: Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway.

Gordon seized upon a surprising opportunity on the final lap of Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Talladega.

As a pack of 18 cars roared down the backstretch, Gordon suddenly darted out from behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and used a push from Tony Stewart to pass Johnson for the lead heading into Turn 3.

Gordon held on from there to capture his second consecutive victory at Talladega and the sixth of his career, breaking his tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for most driver wins.

It also was a record 12th restrictor-plate victory of his career and his 80th win overall.

Gordon's victory also gives car owner Rick Hendrick the distinction of most owner wins (10) at Talladega Superspeedway, breaking a tie with Richard Childress.

But afterward, Gordon admitted that he thought there would be a different Hendrick Motorsports car in Victory Lane.

"I really thought Jimmie was going to win the race," Gordon said. "I really wasn't getting the momentum that I felt I needed to make a pass. … I was sitting there with the 12 (Ryan Newman) and the 2 (Kurt Busch) on the outside just locking me down. I couldn't have gone anywhere if I'd wanted to.

"Then they got three-wide and the momentum shifted. I got a push from the 22 (Dave Blaney), and I just went with it. Then I heard my spotter say the 20 (Stewart) had a run outside, and it just happened when I made that move on Jimmie that he couldn't block me. I got to the outside, and I looked in my mirror and there was the 20 pushing me. "Sometimes that move works for you, and sometimes it doesn't."

This time it did. Johnson, meanwhile, never had a chance to try a similar move to retake the lead from Gordon and had to settle for second place.

"I couldn't see what was going on back there. My mirror was full of just the 24," Johnson said. "He pulled out in front of the 20 at the right time, and the 20 gave him a shove.

"I hate losing. It wouldn't matter if it was Jeff Gordon or somebody else. The competitor in you wants to win. You get that close, you want to win."

Blaney finished third, tying his career-best NASCAR NEXTEL Cup finish, followed by Denny Hamlin in fourth, Newman fifth, Casey Mears sixth, Busch seventh, Stewart eighth, Tony Raines ninth and Reed Sorenson 10th.

Gordon's pass was the 42nd lead change among 22 drivers.

And while there was some concern entering the race about how the new Car of Tomorrow would work in its first appearance at a restrictor-plate track, Gordon's crew chief gave the car and the race a rave review.

"It was exciting. I think it was everything everybody hoped for in an exciting finish," Steve Letarte said. "This facility is so smooth and such a beautiful race track, and to be as big as it is, you're going to have a wild finish and you're going to have a wild race.

"I thought the race was actually relatively calm throughout, other than a few engines and a couple of tires. I think everybody really did a good job, especially all the drivers. I thought the drivers were very patient and made good decisions. There at the end it was as exiting as everybody wants. I think the fans will definitely be coming back. To make a pass on the last lap for the win and to have your teammate finish second is definitely a great feeling."

Gordon agreed. After a half-dozen victories at Talladega Superspeedway, he has nothing but fond feelings about the track.

"I love coming here," Gordon said. "I love racing with 10 (laps) to go and it's wild and crazy like that. And I think the fans here get to see an awesome show."

UAW-Ford 500 Results:

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS

1. 34 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Pepsi / DuPont 190/5 188 Running

2. 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 175/5 188 Running

3. 2 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 170/5 188 Running

4. 18 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Ground 170/10 188 Running

5. 16 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 160/5 188 Running

6. 29 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 150/0 188 Running

7. 41 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 146/0 188 Running

8. 11 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 147/5 188 Running

9. 14 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 143/5 188 Running

10. 28 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 134/0 188 Running

11. 23 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 135/5 188 Running

12. 39 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Radioactive Energy Drink 132/5 188 Running

13. 32 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Garmin / Best Buy 129/5 188 Running

14. 31 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 121/0 188 Running

15. 22 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 118/0 188 Running

16. 9 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 115/0 188 Running

17. 33 40 David Stremme Dodge Coors Light 117/5 188 Running

18. 17 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 109/0 188 Running

19. 15 88 Mike Wallace Ford M&M's Halloween 106/0 188 Running

20. 37 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 108/5 188 Running

21. 6 127 Jacques Villeneuve Toyota UNICEF 100/0 188 Running

22. 5 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Burger King 102/5 179 Off Track

23. 20 16 Greg Biffle Ford Starz / Dish Network 94/0 176 Off Track

24. 10 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 96/5 175 Off Track

25. 1 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 93/5 175 Off Track

26. 25 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 85/0 171 Running

27. 27 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M's Halloween 82/0 167 Running

28. 12 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 84/5 161 Out of Race

29. 24 7 Robby Gordon Ford Camping World

/ RVs.com 81/5 161 Off Track

30. 38 01 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 73/0 156 Out of Race

31. 40 21 Ken Schrader Ford Motorcraft 70/0 152 Out of Race

32. 4 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 67/0 149 Running

33. 7 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 64/0 149 Running

34. 42 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA Travel 61/0 146 Off Track

35. 8 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Pillsbury Food Service / Cheerios 63/5 144 Out of Race

36. 36 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg's / CARQUEST 60/5 144 Out of Race

37. 35 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Vise-Grip GrooveLocks 52/0 144 Out of Race

38. 30 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet PEAK / Menards 49/0 144 Out of Race

39. 3 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 51/5 144 Out of Race

40. 26 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 48/5 136 Out of Race

41. 43 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 40/0 136 Out of Race

42. 13 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 42/5 113 Out of Race

43. 21 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 34/0 91 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

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