WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Jeff Gordon hemmed and hawed Sunday evening about his preference for the Centurion Boats at The Glen trophy versus his need and desire for 10 more bonus points that a victory would have earned him.

But in the end, points -- specifically bonus points awarded for victories earned in the first 26 races of the season -- won out.

"The bonus points," Gordon said in his first response to the question -- the briefest offering he made while fielding every request after keeping a mob of media waiting some 45 minutes after the checkered flag.

The wait occurred while Gordon absorbed the disappointment created by taking a car that he and his Hendrick Motorsports team had lost the handle on during Saturday's practice at Watkins Glen International, only to redevelop it into a dominant car that led 51 of 90 laps Sunday.

It all went away when, under heavy pressure from Tony Stewart going into Turn 1 with just less than two laps to go, Gordon wheel-hopped his No. 24 Chevrolet and spun from the lead back to ninth (watch video).

A champion's class was exhibited when Gordon first told his crew over the radio after the checkered flag, "I'm sorry -- you did an awesome job and you deserved that win. The driver gave it away," and then when he met the media (watch video).

"Am I all right?" Gordon said, provoking laughter from the throng when he said "I didn't hit anything" -- though he was only barely smiling. "And I didn't need oxygen. I don't want to say what I needed."

He kept insisting he wanted his bonus points, not the regular garden variety markers. With his recovery to ninth, Gordon clinched a spot in the 12-man Chase, but he brushed it off.

"We gave up 20 [points] because I didn't get the 10 that would have kept [Stewart] from getting the 10," he said laughing, but then he stared and flared when his addition was questioned. "Are you not doing the same math that I'm doing? Had I won, I would have gained 10 [points] so I would have been 20 ahead of him more than I now am. So, to me, those are important.

"I hate to act coy like that but I'm sorry -- we're in a different position than other guys are. For us, we're just looking at things different. [Qualifying for the Chase] is not even an issue for us right now, it's about trying to win races and get bonus points and get ourselves ready for that Chase. It's an interesting battle back there for 10th, 11th and 12th, and I know that's a story -- but it's not our story."

For Gordon, it's the bonus points that won the best-two-out-of-three falls wrestling match on Sunday -- but since Gordon had spun away his opportunity for victory in WGI's tricky 90-degree Turn 1, his preferences were moot.

After Gordon spun, Stewart raced away to score his third victory in the last four races this season as he continued to position himself for a strong run at the Chase.

With the win Stewart also tied Gordon with four Glen victories, including three of the last four years, and Gordon made no mistake about the fact he thinks Stewart might be his biggest competition for Gordon's fifth Cup championship.

But Gordon also made it perfectly clear that he thinks he can handle the man who's won two of the last five titles -- bonus points aside -- and that's why he was still pining for the winner's hardware.

"I'd probably take that back -- I probably would rather have the trophy than the bonus points," Gordon said. "I mean, I think we can beat him in the final 10 races, so whether we're ahead or behind in the bonus points [doesn't matter]."

Lap-by-Lap

Read how Jeff Gordon spun out in the closing laps, giving the lead to Tony Stewart.

• Lap-by-Lap, click here
• Video Highlights, click here

After the Sept. 8 race at Richmond, the top 12 drivers will all get their point totals reset to 5,000. Drivers who have won races will get an additional 10 bonus points for each victory they've scored in the first 26 events.

Right now, Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson have four apiece, but with his victory Sunday, the 32nd of his career, Stewart has three, all of which have come in the last four races. They are the only drivers who have more than one win this season.

The impact wasn't lost on Stewart, who earlier in the day handed the lead to Gordon when he made the exact same mistake in the exact same place. The difference was he had plenty of time to get back to the front, rather than less than five miles.

"You know, I think it shows the significance of how important those 10 points are," Stewart said. "You want to win here anyway -- this is a big race to win, obviously, with it being one of two road courses.

"But running second here to myself or Carl [Edwards, who also flew off track on the last lap and ended up eighth] didn't mean anything. It was all about winning [Sunday] because we want those extra 10 points -- those 10 bonus points -- right now."

Sunday's outcome sets up an interesting scenario between the two men with Indiana connections in the four-race run-up to the Chase. With his victory, Stewart moved into fourth in the overall standings.

"He's been strong here for a long time and he's going to be tough in the Chase, I know -- it's going to be interesting," Gordon said of Stewart. "The thing is you definitely can't make those kinds of mistakes in the Chase.

"Right now, I'm not points racing so I probably mentally push myself harder than physically because I know the points aren't on the line. It's more about the win. In the Chase, I'll make sure we don't make those kinds of mistakes."

Gordon was asked about his earlier comment referencing a 20-point swing versus Stewart, if Gordon had been able to hold on for the win, and he rethought his position.

"That's true -- you're right. In a way, I guess we are [points racing], but the Chase hasn't started yet," Gordon said. "It's just going to be a different mentality. Like you say, it's a bonus. You're not actually focused on it. Right now, it's hard to think of it as the difference between the championship -- but it could be I guess."

Gordon finally said part of his feelings were the job his team had done.

"I'm just disappointed because we were terrible [Saturday] in practice and this team worked so hard to get us a good racecar [Sunday]," Gordon said. "I was driving the wheels off of it and they were doing an awesome job in the pits and making good calls and put us in position to win that race and I don't like giving up wins -- I don't like making mistakes.

"That mistake is not a difficult one to make. That corner is ridiculously difficult and we were having brake issues all weekend. I saw Tony do it and I knew I needed to make sure I didn't do it and I didn't do it all day until it came down to when it counted. I'm just disappointed."

Gordon recalled a race at Texas Motor Speedway in the spring, in which he had dominated, only to make an error, hit the wall late and fade in the stretch.

"Hey, anytime you do something like this [it hurts]," Gordon said. "It's not the first time I've done it. It's always something different. Anytime you've got a shot at winning a race ... it was just like at Texas earlier this year when I brushed the wall. I was extremely disappointed in myself then and I'm disappointed now.

"I'll get over it and actually I'm so angry right now. I told the guys the last time I made a mistake like this I'd make it up to them and I plan on doing that again."

Interim crew chief Jeff Meendering, who will step back into his engineering role when crew chief Steve Letarte returns from a six-race suspension this weekend at Michigan, said there was no question his crew supported Gordon.

"We wouldn't trade Jeff Gordon for anyone," Meendering said. "We felt like the only reason we were in the position we were in was because of Jeff, so we don't have a problem with [his mistake]."