Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, celebrates his victory in the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Sunday. The race was shortened due to rain. MCT Photo
LONG POND, Pa. — In a race marred by the death of a fan hit by lightning, Jeff Gordon earned his first victory of the season on Sunday, taking advantage of an accident sparked by teammate Jimmie Johnson and going on to win when the race was called because of a downpour preceding the fatal storm.
After the race, Pocono officials said one person died and nine others were injured after a lightning strike in the parking lot behind the grandstand.
‘‘You hate to hear something like that,’’ Gordon said. ‘‘Certainly our thoughts are with them.’’
Gordon earned his 86th career victory, winning for the first time since September 2011 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to thrust himself into wild-card contention in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
This win meant more than about all the others for Gordon. This was the first time his wife and both of his two young children joined him celebration.
‘‘That experience to me today means so much more than anything else,’’ he said. Johnson inadvertently gave his Hendrick Motorsports teammate the help he needed. Johnson’s No.
48 had a flat tire off a restart and slammed Matt Kenseth into the wall.
Kenseth slid down the track and took out Denny Hamlin and three other cars.
With an unexpected opening triggered by the accident, Gordon zagged and zipped the No. 24 through holes like an All-Pro running back, splashing his way to victory.
‘‘When I saw the opening to get inside, I was taking it,’’ Gordon said.
It couldn’t have come at a better time. The skies opened and cars were ordered off the track. The race was called moments later with 98 of the 160 scheduled laps completed.
Gordon, who started 27th, had a drive to remember.
Gordon, who turned 41 on Saturday, had a string of bad breaks this season and knew he needed wins over the final six races before the Chase cutoff to have any shot at running for a fifth championship during the 10-race playoffs. The win moved him into the second wild-card spot that would guarantee a berth in the field.
Gordon, who also won a rain-shortened race at Pocono in 2007, passed Bill Eilliott for most career wins at Pocono with six.
Gordon had winless seasons in 2008 and 2010 — a late-career drought far removed from the years when he was a regular in Victory Lane. He had double-digit victories in three straight seasons (1996-98) and seemed a lock to hit 100 victories by 35 and put himself behind only Richard Petty on the all-time list.
Petty leads with 200 wins and David Pearson is second with 105. Gordon is a comfortable third on the list.
He had a painfully mediocre start to season — including consecutive 33rd and 35th place finishes at Talladega and Darlington — before finding his groove of late with crew chief Alan Gustafson. Gordon has three straight top-six finishes and has finished in the top six in six of his last seven races.
He was due for a breakthrough and kept grinding it out. ‘‘The last several weeks, we’ve had something to build on,’’ Gordon said. Kasey Kahne was second, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart.
Kahne refused to rule out another Gordon championship run if he stays in the Chase field.
‘‘Absolutely. It’s Jeff Gordon. Look what he’s done,’’ Kahne said.
After the race, Pocono officials said one person died and nine others were injured after a lightning strike in the parking lot behind the grandstand.
‘‘You hate to hear something like that,’’ Gordon said. ‘‘Certainly our thoughts are with them.’’
Gordon earned his 86th career victory, winning for the first time since September 2011 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to thrust himself into wild-card contention in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
This win meant more than about all the others for Gordon. This was the first time his wife and both of his two young children joined him celebration.
‘‘That experience to me today means so much more than anything else,’’ he said. Johnson inadvertently gave his Hendrick Motorsports teammate the help he needed. Johnson’s No.
48 had a flat tire off a restart and slammed Matt Kenseth into the wall.
Kenseth slid down the track and took out Denny Hamlin and three other cars.
With an unexpected opening triggered by the accident, Gordon zagged and zipped the No. 24 through holes like an All-Pro running back, splashing his way to victory.
‘‘When I saw the opening to get inside, I was taking it,’’ Gordon said.
It couldn’t have come at a better time. The skies opened and cars were ordered off the track. The race was called moments later with 98 of the 160 scheduled laps completed.
Gordon, who started 27th, had a drive to remember.
Gordon, who turned 41 on Saturday, had a string of bad breaks this season and knew he needed wins over the final six races before the Chase cutoff to have any shot at running for a fifth championship during the 10-race playoffs. The win moved him into the second wild-card spot that would guarantee a berth in the field.
Gordon, who also won a rain-shortened race at Pocono in 2007, passed Bill Eilliott for most career wins at Pocono with six.
Gordon had winless seasons in 2008 and 2010 — a late-career drought far removed from the years when he was a regular in Victory Lane. He had double-digit victories in three straight seasons (1996-98) and seemed a lock to hit 100 victories by 35 and put himself behind only Richard Petty on the all-time list.
Petty leads with 200 wins and David Pearson is second with 105. Gordon is a comfortable third on the list.
He had a painfully mediocre start to season — including consecutive 33rd and 35th place finishes at Talladega and Darlington — before finding his groove of late with crew chief Alan Gustafson. Gordon has three straight top-six finishes and has finished in the top six in six of his last seven races.
He was due for a breakthrough and kept grinding it out. ‘‘The last several weeks, we’ve had something to build on,’’ Gordon said. Kasey Kahne was second, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart.
Kahne refused to rule out another Gordon championship run if he stays in the Chase field.
‘‘Absolutely. It’s Jeff Gordon. Look what he’s done,’’ Kahne said.
