A confident Hendrick walked up to Gordon Sunday morning and told him, “You’re going to win the race today.”
20 years after winning the inaugural Brickyard 400, Gordon proved Hendrick’s premonition.
In his teenage years, Gordon moved from Vallejo, Calif., to Pittsboro, Ind., so he could start racing United States Auto Club sprint cars on Indiana’s rural short tracks. Sunday, the 42-year-old won the 21st Brickyard 400 for a record fifth time in his soon-to-be Hall of Fame ?career.
“Every time I come here to Indianapolis I feel like we have a shot at winning,” Gordon said. “The first couple of laps that I felt this racecar, I knew we had a racecar that was capable of winning this race. It just had the feel.”
A late race caution prompted a restart with 17 laps remaining that put Gordon on the outside of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne.
It was far from the ideal situation for Gordon, who admitted he has struggled with race restarts since NASCAR implemented double-file restarts in 2009.
On the first restart of the day, he spun his tires. The second time, he was bogged down in tires. The third, the car didn’t stick. Simply put, Gordon said he is terrible at restarts.
But when he most needed a quick start, Gordon nailed it.
“I didn’t think I wanted to see the restart, and, out of nowhere, I had the restart of my life,” he said.
Gordon quickly went up the gearbox, pushing his No. 24 Chevrolet’s nose alongside Kahne’s quarterpanel as he was shifting into fourth gear. Gordon’s presence loosened up Kahne’s car, allowing for Gordon to get a run.
Gordon’s advantage was just enough to allow him to power to the outside of Kahne going through the first turn. He quickly spaced himself from the field, building a nearly one-second lead on the first lap after the restart.
From there, Gordon drove away. His car was dominant, leading 40 laps and being able to navigate through the dirty air in traffic much better than the rest of the field.
The win tied Gordon with Michael Schumacher for the most wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, at five. When asked why Gordon has had so much success at Indianapolis, Denny Hamlin pointed out two things.
“Really fast cars, really, really fast cars,” Hamlin said before pausing. “And he’s pretty good, too.”
Gordon’s win at Indianapolis was a popular one among Hoosier racing fans, many of whom watched as Gordon cut his teeth racing sprint cars as a teenager across the ?Midwest.
As he drove around turn 4 to take the checkered flag, Gordon said he snuck a look into the stands where he saw a crowd full of fans standing and cheering. It was an image he won’t be forgetting soon.
“Just to see everybody standing and cheering, that’s awesome,” Gordon said. “That sends a chill up your spine as a racecar driver in a race that’s so important to you.”
Before the season had begun, there were reports that Gordon was considering retirement. But after his Brickyard win, he currently sits atop the points standings and is proving to be a threat to capture his fifth championship.
“It’s certainly going to be a huge confidence boost for this team,” Gordon said. “It’s so hard to gain confidence in this series, but a Brickyard 400 win? It just doesn’t get any better.”
