Winning Decision Goes Gordon’s Way

This time, the decision went Jeff Gordon’s way.

After a NASCAR ruling went against him a week earlier in Martinsville, Va., costing Gordon a shot at victory, the sanctioning organization handed the four-time Nextel Cup champion a controversial win Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

Gordon seized the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr. with six laps remaining and barely beat him, ending DEI’s winning streak at Talladega and bringing a rain of beer cans and garbage from the pro-Earnhardt fans.

“I don’t mind a little controversy, especially when it goes my way,” Gordon said, smiling.

In Martinsville, Gordon had little to smile about after his car was damaged when he hit a large piece of concrete that had dislodged from the track while running second. NASCAR refused to let Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports team repair the car during the 77-minute delay while the track was being repaired. He wound up sixth.

Sunday, with Earnhardt making a strong move to pass for the lead coming off turn four on Lap 184 of the 188-lap race, rookie Hendrick driver Brian Vickers and Casey Mears collided, sending Vickers sliding and bringing out the 11th caution flag of the race.

Under NASCAR’s rule change from last fall, freezing the field when the yellow comes out rather than letting the competitors race to the flagstand, Gordon got his first Nextel Cup victory of the season, third on Talladega’s 2.66-mile oval and the 65th of his NASCAR career.

At first, Earnhardt was posted in front, but replays appeared to show Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet was about three-quarters of a car length ahead of Earnhardt’s No. 8 Monte Carlo when the caution waved.

Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, led four times for a total of 15 laps.

Earnhardt led 11 times for a race-high 57 laps.

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Michael Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Italy, giving him victories in all four Formula One races this season.

The Ferrari driver overtook pole sitter Jenson Button in the first round of pit stops and led the rest of the way for his 74th career win and sixth in Imola.

Button, the BAR Honda driver from Britain, finished second for his best career result, 9.702 seconds behind Schumacher’s winning time of 1 hour 26 minutes 19.670 seconds.