Jeff Gordon takes a hammering

Gordon, who started from pole, was punted into a spin at the first corner by Greg Biffle. He fought his way back through the pack to run third, but ran out of petrol on the final lap. Just as it looked like he would coast across the line, well within the top 10, he was punted off into the wall by fellow Chevrolet driver Kevin Harvick.

"It's our fault we didn't make it on fuel, but I was going to coast back and finish fifth," he said. "Harvick got to the outside of me and I guess he thought I was going to run up in the wall, but I really was just trying to get out of his way, and he stopped the car and got in behind me and hit me.

"He should've known I was out of gas. If he knew before that, he should've known then. He just flat ran over me. I can't believe I got spun like that on the last corner of the last lap and come home up short like that. I was trying to coast to the finish line, even backwards if I could and I couldn't make it."

Harvick said of the incident: "He just ran out of gas. He pulled right up in the groove and I hit him - twice - and the second time he spun out. I hate it that it happened."

Gordon, who was classified 33rd, is now 396 points behind Kenseth, who finished eighth despite losing time in a clash at Turn 1 with Casey Mears.