Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • Z4

4DD Monday, April 6, 2009 www.star-telegram.com As Jimmie Johnson closed in on the lead car, he saw only a number and a name. 24. Jeff Gordon. Not a teammate who won in a year and a half. Not a friend.

He would have gladly de- nied him another victory if he could have. But when he when Gordon proved too fast to catch, when they were both past the finish line, Johnson relaxed. He was glad about what he had just seen No. 24 Guard Chevrolet sailing to vic- tory in the Samsung 500 on Sunday at Texas Motor Speed- way. a friend, I would have felt bad if I had passed Johnson said.

a competi- tor, I would have been excited. The best thing I can do, from a competition standpoint, is break any momentum any- body has, and the 24 is leading the points right now. I could have made a pass and won, as much as we com- pete against each other, it could have been helpful for a couple of months. on the friendship side, glad to see my teammate win, especially a friend. very happy for The Hendrick Motorsports teammates are used to racing each other.

Sunday marked the ninth time they have fin- ished first and second. But for Johnson, finishing second was an accomplishment in itself. Gordon, starting on the outside of the front row, was strong from the start. Johnson, starting ninth, ran out of the top 10 for most of the race, looking for a setup that could work against the wind. A lack of cautions hurt him.

But when team found the right combination, his car looked like it might be a winner. at the end, when I had clean air, we picked up a ton of Johnson said. lot of the handling character- istics improved at that point. I was just trying to find a way to the front, chipping away at his lead. I just ran out of The final 30 laps belonged to Gordon, but Johnson en- joyed the competition.

cool thing about the last 28 laps is there was noth- ing left out Johnson said. foot, it felt like being at the go-kart track, it was asleep from pushing the gas pedal so hard. It was still tin- gling. It was fun driving so hard. glad Jeff got his CARLOS MENDEZ, 817-390-7760 JIMMIE JOHNSON Johnson was bearing down on a rival, not a buddy If he could have kept a teammate from a win, Jimmie Johnson would have.

But he ran out of on a late charge. Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Chevrolet, won by 0.378 seconds over Jimmie Johnson (in back), who said he up a ton of in the final laps trying to reel in his teammate. GETTY FERREY By CARLOS MENDEZ Top Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gor- don each have nine top-10 fin- ishes at Texas Motor Speedway. finished in the top 10 together five times.

The run- down: Year Johnson Gordon 2002 6th 2nd 2003 8th 3rd 2004 9th 3rd 2006-x 2nd 9th 2007-x 1st 7th x-fall Wearing a hat and sunglasses, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood outside his trailer, answering ques- tions from reporters with a little frustration in his voice. no doubt that been a tough sea- son for the most popular star in NASCAR, and it get any better during Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 88 Amp National Guard Chevrolet driver hit the wall late in the race and stumbled across the finish line a lap down in 20th place.

That, in a nutshell, typifies sea- son. His highest finish has been eighth place, his best starting position has been 14th, and he is 16th in the points standings. The only time Earnhardt smiled after the race was when he talked about the upcom- ing week off. The next race is the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix In- ternational Race- way on April 18. going to raise a little hell and go to Whiskey Earnhardt quipped.

going to go on vacation during Easter and just take it Easy has to sound good for Earnhardt and his team. The season has been anything but. This race was no different. The team lost any hope of a good showing on Lap 290. Earnhardt, trying to make a late charge, hit the wall when he took too high of a line through Turns 1 and 2.

frustrating, but be over it in a few Earnhardt said. were running real, real hard all day, trying to run well and I just got in over my head in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. I got up on one a little deep and caught the fence. my Something that mistake earlier in the race, though, also proved to be costly for the team. On Lap 259, Earnhardt took the lead.

On Lap 260, however, Kyle Busch, who was two laps down, cut in low and nearly hit Earnhardt. Earnhardt avoided contact by moving to the high groove, but it cost him big time, as he fell to seventh. Busch, not surprisingly, speak to re- porters after the race. drove in there really, really deep trying to get one of his laps back and made it Earnhardt said. is just one of those you know.

races real aggressively and just a tough Earnhardt, obviously, struggled to find the right words to describe tactic. And just as hard to find an explanation why Earn- hardt has struggled this season. DALE EARNHARDT JR. Junior drives into more frustration been a tough season for Dale Earnhardt and race was no different for most popular star. By DREW DAVISON Special to the Star-Telegram Dale Earnhardt close to the wall here, hit it on Lap 290 and wound up in 20th.

MALLISON 2009 season: Track Start Finish Daytona 14 27 Fontana 35 39 Las Vegas 31 10 Atlanta 20 11 Bristol 34 14 Martinsville 19 8 Texas 20 20 Carl shot at a remark- able Texas Motor Speedway three-peat died excruciatingly in the pits with 28 laps to go. A slow change of the front tires on No. 99 Aflac Ford during a caution took him out of the lead and dumped him into 11th place and out of contention when he finally got back up to speed with 26 laps left. His mishap opened the door for Jeff Gordon to grab that elu- sive first checkered flag at TMS in 17 races. deal is had bad pit stops for three said Ed- wards, who settled for a 10th- place finish.

one blatantly cost us the And a greater slice of Texas his- tory. three victories at TMS already rank as the most of any driver, one ahead of two-time winner Jeff Burton, who claimed his titles 10 years apart. Edwards is the lone back-to- back champion, having won both 500-mile races last season. But three in a row? That feat might never happen. is a great place to win a Edwards said.

just give it away like The irony is Edwards said his team worked out a setup problem early in the race, balanced it out and then operated a smooth pit stop later on that helped launch Edwards past Gordon for the lead with the race moving into crunch time. never know how the re- sults would have changed had Carl not had his Gor- don said. I know is we had a good pit Edwards seemed certain how the results would have changed. thought, we can have just one more pit be all Edwards said. then we went in leading and came out 11th, and what cost us the At the same time as wheels spun off, Gordon, the Sprint Cup points leader, fed off a flawless interchange in his pit that vaulted the No.

24 Chevrolet into the lead and soon after into the Circle. can do Edwards said of his crew. had one pit stop, we passed a ton of people and put us in position to get the lead. I know they can do it; just got to figure out how to do it every Edwards, who entered Sun- race in eighth place in the points standings, stayed there with his third top-10 finish in sev- en races this season, however, this one was clearly his most dis- appointing. head to Phoenix in two weeks still seeking that first win of the season, one he could practi- cally see TMS president Eddie Gossage etching into the record books on a blustery spring afternoon in North Texas.

Until one last pit stop soured his day. Edwards, who gambled on his fuel level in the race last Novem- ber, staying on the track and hanging on to win, led for just nine of the 334 laps Sunday. He started in 13th position, swayed between ninth and fifth during the meat of the race and made his move up to third by lap 260, to second by lap 280, and he had the lead at milestone lap 300. By lap 320, Edwards was 10th and done. know the guys are working hard, but this is a tough Ed- wards said.

way this works is I need anybody to tell me when done something wrong, they need anybody to tell them. Those guys want to win this race just as bad as I do. all in this JEFF CAPLAN, 817-390-7760 CARL EDWARDS Carl last pit stop proved costly when a slow change of the front tires on his No. 99 Aflac Ford took him out of the lead. SPECIAL TO THE BOYD Wheels come off chance at a TMS three-peat Carl Edwards misses on his bid at three consecutive victories at Texas Motor Speedway.

By JEFF CAPLAN Edwards at TMS Carl Edwards, the only three-time winner of Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway, narrowly missed a third consecutive victory Sunday, losing the lead in the final 28 laps. How fared since 2005 at TMS: Date Race Finish April 5, 2009 Samsung 500 10 Nov. 2, 2008 Dickies 500 1 April 6, 2008 Samsung 500 1 Nov. 4, 2007 Dickies 500 26 April 15, 2007 Samsung 500 12 Nov. 5, 2006 Dickies 500 15 April 9, 2006 Samsung 500 36 Nov.

6, 2005 Dickies 500 1 April 17, 2005 Samsung 500 19 Carl Edwards said the poor pit stop cost us the SPECIAL TO THE BOYD.