Gordon enjoys record win

The Californian became the first back-to-back winner at Sears Point.

A crash between Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton on the final laps brought out a red flag, allowing Gordon a sip of water and enough composure to hold off Mark Martin and win the race for a second year.

'We didn't think we could finish today, let alone win it,' Gordon said.

He beat Martin by 0.197 seconds for his fourth straight road course victory since 1997 at Watkins Glen, N.Y. He now has four career road course victories, matching Martin.

He also earned his fourth victory of the season and broke a chain of three straight second placed finishes.

Starting from the pole in his No. 24 Chevrolet, the defending Winston Cup champion, led 80 of 112 laps on the 10-turn, 1.949-mile road course nestled in Northern California's wine country.

The race was marred by seven cautions, but the final laps were especially chaotic.

Sixth-placed Bobby Labonte hit a tyre barrier on lap 103 and knocked around Joe Nemechek, bringing out a full-course caution.

Just after the restart, Rudd ran off the course and crashed into Burton.

A red flag came out to clear the track and finish the race under a green flag.

After the race resumed about 20 minutes later, Martin was unable to overtake Gordon on the final three laps.

'That red flag didn't hurt at all,' Gordon said. 'The tyres kind of went away there at the end for everybody, but I was able to get refreshed and make a good effort those last three laps.'

While Gordon admitted that all the cautions helped him, Martin felt otherwise.

'They crippled us a little bit because I thought it was better the longer we ran,' Martin said.

John Andretti, who started in the 31st position, finished third in a Pontiac, followed by Rusty Wallace and Jimmy Spencer, both in Fords.

Rudd, who was running fourth at the time of the accident and finished 38th, had not finished in the top 10 this season.

Martin, who won here two years ago and finished sixth last year, started in the ninth position but quickly moved up to challenge Gordon on the 18th lap.

He overtook Gordon on lap 26, beating him out of the pits during a caution.

Steve Park, driving a Pennzoil Chevrolet, lost control on the second, somersaulted, before coming to rest on a retaining wall.

Park appeared fine, saluting the fans as he emerged from the car.

Gordon re-took the lead from Martin on the lap 31 and held on to it until the 51st lap, when he ran off the track on the seventh turn.

The mistake put Gordon in third behind Martin and Jeff Burton.

Burton overtook Martin on the lap 69, the first lead he has ever held on a road course.

But it was short-lived; Burton slowed two laps later and reported transmission problems.

Spencer took the lead briefly during a caution for debris on the track, but once the course was clear Gordon passed Martin and Spencer to regain the lead with 33 laps to go.

Martin, whose only win this season came at Rockingham, kept his No. 6 Ford on Gordon's tail the rest of the way.

On the final lap, Martin tried valiantly to pass Gordon, but couldn't manage it.

Gordon said he never considered handing over the wheel.

'I knew once I cooled down and got some bottled water, I could wrap it up,' he said. 'I wanted to get it done and finish the race.'

It was Gordon's 46th career victory earning him $125,040.

Wallace, who has won at Sears Point twice, was using a new car and vying for his 50th career win.