Robby Gordon's troubles started and ended with problems on pit road. Credit: Autostock

Robby gets the short end in a tale of two Gordons

Multiple problems drop road ace to career-worst finish at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. -- Robby Gordon has a bad day at a road course about as often as Sonoma gets a summertime thunderstorm, which is almost never.

Two of Gordon's three victories have come on tracks where drivers turn left and right, along with seven of his 12 top-fives.

Robby Gordon spent the early part of the day near the front before problems overwhelmed him. Credit: Autostock

Dodge/Save Mart 350 Official Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Jeff Gordon Chevy 2. Ryan Newman Dodge 3. Terry Labonte Chevy 4. Greg Biffle Ford 5. Kurt Busch Dodge 6. Carl Edwards Ford 7. Jeff Burton Chevy 8. Elliott Sadler Ford 9. Boris Said Ford 10. Jimmie Johnson Chevy • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Rough dayRobby Gordon's day goes from bad to worse SonomaWatch all the videos from Infineon Raceway Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

In eight previous visits to the 12-turn Infineon Raceway, Gordon had never finished worse than 18th. However, he had never had as much bad luck as he did in Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350, which resulted in a 40th-place finish.

It looked like a normal trip to Sonoma for Gordon early on, as he quickly moved up from his 14th starting spot into fourth by Lap 10.

"We had a good car," Gordon said. "I was easily driving up to [leader Kurt Busch]."

Gordon was up to third behind Busch and Ryan Newman by Lap 25, perfect position for another possible trip to Victory Lane.

But things began to go wrong shortly after pit stop problems on Lap 28 left Gordon back in the field. Five laps later, Gordon and Boris Said made side-to-side contact.

"When we came around, I don't know if Boris didn't know I was on the outside or whatever, but he just kept coming and slammed my left-front tire," Gordon said. "It knocked the left front in."

From that point, Gordon's No. 7 Chevrolet was never the same. He gamely soldiered on, staying on the fringes of the top 10. But the toe-in issue worsened, leaving Gordon with a flat tire on Lap 75.

"It finally wore out the left-front tire," he said. "I was trying to take it easy coming in, but I turned right to make the right-hander coming in and it just didn't turn. It went straight into the wall."

The resulting kiss with the concrete broke the tie rod, sidelining Gordon for good.

Instead of his first Cup victory since Watkins Glen in 2003, a disappointed Gordon was forced to pack up the hauler while the other Gordon -- Jeff -- was on his way to the win.

Gordon was hoping for a repeat of 2003, when he led 81 laps, beating Jeff Gordon by about a half-second following a controversial pass of Kevin Harvick under a local yellow.