Pitting

Hamlin wins SHOWTIME Southern 500, same old story for Gordon

This is really getting old. And I’m not even the one driving the car.

Yes, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. where winning is everything and second place is just the first loser, it was another frustrating night for Jeff Gordon at Darlington Raceway.

Yes, Gordon led more laps of the race than any other driver.

Yes, Gordon’s pit crew had fast, perfect pit stops.

And yes, once again, Gordon failed to win because of simple bad luck at a bad time.

To his credit, Gordon took the defeat in stride, and also took the blame for the loss. It wasn’t his fault, though. As he was getting ready to make his final pit stop, the cars behind him closed in and Gordon realized he wouldn’t be able to cut to the pits without causing an accident.

So Gordon stayed out an extra lap before pitting. But just as he entered the pits, the yellow flag flew for someone else’s accident. Gordon drove through pit lane without stopping to avoid losing a lap, but it dropped him to 11th place. He finished fourth, a victory in itself.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was standing in victory lane despite his bad knee. It was Hamlin’s third win this year, and his second in two days, having won the Nationwide series race at Darlington just one day earlier.

So how long will Gordon be able to maintain his composure before the frustration gets to him?

As long as it takes.

Gordon and his team are extremely strong, and a new trophy or two or three will be in their showcase at Hendrick Motorsports soon — probably. If not, it won’t be due to frustration or lack of effort.