Texas Tough Break for Jeff Gordon

Another tough break for Gordon at TMS By Matthew Leach NASCAR

FORT WORTH, Texas (March 28, 1999) Jeff Gordon described his crash as "the hardest I've ever hit a wall."

Jeff Gordon's terrible luck at Texas Motor Speedway got even worse Sunday when he endured a hard wreck in Sunday's PRIMESTAR 500, relegating him to the first 43rd-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career. Gordon was treated for bruised ribs and a bruised chin and released from the QualityCare Network Infield Care Center. X-rays revealed no broken bones.

On lap 69 of the race scheduled for 334 laps, the right front tire went down on Gordon's No. 24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet. He slammed the wall hard, then skidded down the track and across the infield. Gordon described the incident as "the hardest I've ever hit a wall." Gordon's crew chief, Ray Evernham, was unsure exactly what happened to cause the tire to go down.

"When they wreck like that," Evernham said, "there's just not enough pieces left. Between us and (Mike) Skinner (who also wrecked), maybe they'll find something. Our tire didn't blow out. It just went on the liner, so that tells me it was possibly a cut. It just got to the corner, 200 miles an hour, and didn't turn.

"That's the first time I've ever seen him hit that hard. Hopefully he won't be too sore for too long, but like I said, thank God nothing's broken."

Through five races in 1999, the three-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion has two DNF's, after totaling just two all year in each of the past two seasons. He has finished last one other time in his series career, also in the PRIMESTAR 500 at Atlanta in March, 1997. However, there were only 42 cars in the field that day.

Gordon said that he hopes to be back in the car for the April 11 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series has the weekend off next week.

Source: NASCAR Online