Gordon Enjoys a Plateful

There was a time when Jeff Gordon didn’t like restrictor-plate racing. Not anymore.

Gordon proved again Sunday that he is NASCAR’s new king of racing at plate tracks, fighting off challenger after challenger on the way to winning the Aaron’s 499 in overtime at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

“This is the type of racing where experience is really key,” Gordon said. “The more that I get used to watching my mirror, using the air and having the kind of car I had today, I feel like I get better at restrictor-plate racing.”

That’s bad news for the rest of the NASCAR Nextel Cup competitors.

It was Gordon’s 10th victory overall and fourth in the last five races at Talladega and Daytona Beach, Fla., the only tracks at which NASCAR requires the horsepower-sapping plates to slow the cars.

Gordon, who has complained that the constant two- and three-wide racing in huge packs at Talladega gives him a headache, said, “Oh, I’ve got a headache, but with a car like I had today it isn’t a very big headache.”

The four-time Cup champion led in a Chevrolet for 139 of the 194 laps on the way to his fourth victory on the 2.66-mile oval. He finally held off Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip, each in a Chevrolet, at the end of a two-lap shootout, set up by a six-car crash with one lap to go in regulation that ended the chances of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

By staying up front most of the day, Gordon was able to avoid a 25-car crash that took out several top contenders, as well as the crash on Lap 187 that involved Earnhardt, series points leader Jimmie Johnson and pole-winner Kevin Harvick.

Gordon got a good start when the green flag waved for Lap 193 and he stayed in front as the contenders fought it out behind him. Stewart, with Waltrip giving him a hard push, managed to grab the second spot, but finished 0.192 seconds -- about two car-lengths -- behind Gordon. It was the 13th consecutive victory for Chevy at the Alabama track.

Gordon repeated his victory last year in this race and added this win to victories in February in the Daytona 500 and in July at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. It was Gordon’s 72nd career victory.

Jeremy Mayfield finished fourth in a Dodge, followed by Jamie McMurray in a Dodge, Elliott Sadler in a Ford and defending series champion Kurt Busch in a Ford. Earnhardt, who has five Talladega victories, including one last fall, was able to continue after the last crash and finished 15th in Chevrolet.

With Johnson finishing 20th in a Chevrolet, his lead over Busch in the season standings dwindled from 173 points to 130. Gordon moved from fourth to third, 151 points behind.

Earnhardt, battling toward the rear of the top 10, nudged the rear of Mike Wallace’s Chevrolet on Lap 133 as the cars headed toward Turn 1.

Wallace then came together with Johnson and slid sideways, setting off a crash that involved more than half of the 43-car field and stopped the race for about 43 minutes.

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Gary Scelzi raced to his first funny car victory this season and 30th overall, beating Jeff Arend in the final of the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.

Scelzi, driving a Dodge Stratus, had a quarter-mile run at 4.815 seconds and a top speed of 329.26 mph. Arend finished in 4.971 and 282.42 in a Chevrolet.

Doug Kalitta earned his 21st career top fuel victory to move into the series lead, beating first-time finalist Rod Fuller at 4.593 and 322.50.

Warren Johnson, 61, raced to his 94th pro stock victory and second this season when final-round opponent Richie Stevens fouled at the start.