Sunday afternoon, the longest drought in between wins in Jeff Gordon's Sprint Cup career finally came to a close with a 'W' in Texas Motor Speedway's Samsung 500. Here's a quick look at No. 24's drought by the numbers: 14,037 - Laps completed between victory lane visits
540 - Days in between wins for Gordon [Lowe's, Oct. 13, 2007 - Texas, April 5, 2009] 447 - Total laps led in 2008
For the first time since October 2007, we don't have to hear about Jeff Gordon's winless streak.
Gordon went from worst a year ago at Texas Motor Speedway to first on Sunday to win the Samsung 500 and cement the No. 24 as a legitimate championship contender.
Where:Texas Motor Speedway Time: Sunday 2 p.m./EDT TV/Radio: FOX Sports, PRN Radio Forecast: Sunny, 62 degrees Distance: 334 laps (501 miles) Pole Winner:David Reutimann 2008 Winner:Carl Edwards
The Storylines
For the sake of racing in general let's hope that Saturday's Nationwide Series race at TMS will have been nothing like Sunday's Samsung 500. Missed that race? Well, here's all you need to know: Kyle Busch, Kyle Busch and, yep, more Kyle freakin' Busch.
A year ago, that No. 00 driven by Michael McDowell suffered one of the single-most violent crashes in NASCAR history as it first slammed the turn one wall before rolling multiple times down the track in qualifying. McDowell, miracuously, was uninjured.
Friday, though, David Reutimann continued his hot start to the season in the No. 00 by taking the pole for Sunday's Samsung 500.
According to police reports, Kahne ran into the back of a car driven by a 17-year-old woman as traffic slowed on Highway 114 near the track. No one was injured and neither driver was charged in the accident. Both vehicles had to be towed away from the scene.
I'm glad their both OK, but do you think those crazy Allstate mom's were involved?
Kahne, according to the article, was driving a Dodge Durango "leased" from a dealership near Texas Motor Speedway. That's likely a perk of being a Dodge driver.
I'd really like to know, though, if the "17-year-old" driver had any clue who Kahne was. Can you imagine that phone call home if she happened to be a NASCAR fan?
"Hey Dad. Uh, I've been in accident, but it's totally sweet because Kasey Kahne hit me!"
I knew Greg Biffle had an issue or two during Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, but I had no clue that the problems were as numerous as they were until I heard Biffle Tuesday night on MRN Radio's NASCAR Live!.
The show, hosted by the timeless Eli Gold, had Roush Fenway Racing's Biffle as a call-in guest and he nearly took up all of his alloted time to just list all of the problems he had Sunday.
For starters, Biffle was coasting around the speedway during the parade laps prior to the start of the 500-miler when he reached down to set his tachometer at pit road speed. By doing so, Biffle knows exactly what the pit road speed limit is.
The only problem, though, was that when he reached to set the tach, the entire tachometer assembly fell off the dash and was hanging by the wires behind the steering wheel.
Later, Biffle faced some handling issues and eventually pitted under green to replace a loose wheel that had a caused a significant vibration.
The information, via the Charlotte Observer, comes from Dr. Dean Sicking, the man behind the creation of the SAFER barrier.
Dr. Dean Sicking, whose team at the University of Nebraska developed the steel and foam energy reducing barrier, said on Sirius NASCAR Radio that data shared with him by NASCAR showed a 70 mph change of velocity at the moment of impact.
hat change of velocity number is important in studying high-impact crashes. If measures the difference between the speed a car is traveling the moment -- in milliseconds -- immediately before and the moment immediately after an impact.
In McDowell's case, that means his car lost 70 mph in the instant that it hit the wall.
So imagine this: you're driving down the local interstate at about 70mph and then much less than a second later, you have come to a complete stop.
Think that would be a little painful on the body? I'd imagine so. Somehow, though, with the innovations in race car safety with the SAFER, the HANS device, and the plethora of other safety components, McDowell walked away from his impact with little more than soreness.
The article goes on to state that Sicking has determined that the stopping impact that killed Dale Earnhardt in 2001 was around 42-44mph.
In any case, the new car in the Sprint Cup Series has passed its safety test with more than flying colors.
Edwards, who has also won at California and Las Vegas in 2008, led 123 laps of 339 to score the win over Jimmie Johnson.
Late in the race, it looked like Edwards would cruise to the victory with a safe lead of over one second when Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet blew his engine with four laps to go. On the green-white-checkered restart, Edwards kept his No. 99 Aflac Ford in front and led the final two laps.
Jeff Gordon had to be more than happy to get on the plane and leave Fort Worth on Sunday after finishing dead last in Sunday's Samsung 500.
Gordon started the day 18th and quickly slid through the field as he simply couldn't drive the car into or out of the corner. By the time the first caution came out on lap 29, Gordon was close to going a lap down.
After a pit stop, Gordon came out 32nd and could not make up any ground. Current race leader Jimmie Johnson lapped the No. 24 and on lap 109, Gordon spun off of turn four and backed into the wall.
While the damage was repairable, the Hendrick Motorsports team decided to take the opportunity to try and figure out why the No. 24 just simply would not handle.
Gordon would later come out of the garage area multiple times as the Samsung 500 turned into a glorified test session.
What: Samsung 500 Where: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas When: Sunday, April 6 1:30pm/et FOX (Green Flag Approx. 2:15pm/et) Distance: 334 laps, 500 miles Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. South wind around 15 mph. :) 2007 Winner: Jeff Burton Predictions: Keep Reading
Little Bit of 'Dis, Little Bit of 'Dat from Fort Worth
Good God Almighty: It's Sunny! - Is there really anything else I need to say here? Though I know it isn't true, it has sure seemed like nearly every race in the 2008 Sprint Cup season has been dogged by rain, moisture, coldness or a variety of other non-Chamber of Commerce weather.
The Lone Star State isn't letting us down, though!
Sunday afternoon, the longest drought in between wins in Jeff Gordon's Sprint Cup career finally came to a close with a 'W' in Texas Motor Speedway's Samsung 500. Here's a quick look at No. 24's drought by the numbers:
The old cliché 'what a difference a year makes' couldn't have rang more true for Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00 Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kasey Kahne may be a highly talented Sprint Cup Series driver, but put him on the roadways of America and he's just like you or me.
I knew Greg Biffle had an issue or two during Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, but I had no clue that the problems were as numerous as they were until I heard Biffle Tuesday night on MRN Radio's NASCAR Live!.
Michael McDowell's vicious wreck last Friday during qualifying for the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway apparently reached the limit of what the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) Barrier.
Jeff Gordon had to be more than happy to get on the plane and leave Fort Worth on Sunday after finishing dead last in Sunday's Samsung 500. 
Race: 
