Gordon, Johnson finish 2-3 for Hendrick
By: ED WEHDE - Staff Writer | ∞
FONTANA ---- Jack Roush was on the dais with his victorious driver, Matt Kenseth, after Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, but Hendrick Motorsports had an equally successful day.
Hendrick drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, an El Cajon native, were second and third, respectively; Kyle Busch finished ninth. Only Casey Mears (31st) finished out of the top 10.
Gordon won the pole for Sunday's race in Friday's qualifying. During practice on Saturday, however, the No. 24 Chevrolet was too loose for Gordon's liking.
Consequently, the team adjusted the car's suspension setup, but because of a change in the weather ---- it was cloudy and much cooler Sunday ---- the adjustments went too far.
Gordon made two early pit stops, adjusting the track bar and air pressure in the tires to get the setup right, and fell as far back as 33rd place.
"I'm very happy with that second-place finish," Gordon said. "We started on the pole and we faded early. We just overtightened the car from practice. I think the overcast really hurt us more than we thought it was going to. It took a while for us to make those adjustments, and once we did, we were a top-three or -four car all day."
Johnson started in the middle of the pack, but quickly moved up and ran his No. 48 Chevy in the top 10 most of the day. He might have bettered his third-place finish if not for a bit of bad luck.
Johnson was leading the race when a caution came out because of debris on the track on Lap 227. A slow pit stop cost him several places.
"It wasn't a bad day," Johnson said. "A mysterious debris caution cost us, and then we had some issues on pit road. But it was solid. We had the speed. We just had a stop at the end that kind of hurt us."
The top-five finish came at a good time for Johnson. After finishing 39th in the season-opening Daytona 500 last week, the reigning Nextel Cup champion vaulted into 15th place in the points standings with Sunday's third-place finish.
"It's good to get some points back and get back going in the right direction," Johnson said.
Gordon's finish left him third in points.
"I think it's extremely important (to get off to a good start)," Gordon said. "I know it's early in the season, but we're trying to build a championship right now ---- not just with points, but with the team."
-- Contact staff writer Ed Wehde at (951) 676-4315, ext. 2633 or ewehde@nctimes.com.
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