NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon has admitted that some of his race losses still haunt him, some ten years after his Cup Series retirement.
Gordon, now vice-chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, was speaking after Chase Elliott took a dramatic victory at Kansas thanks to a last-lap collision between Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.
Hamlin lost his power steering earlier in the race and, when trying to pass Wallace on the inside after an overtime restart, ran up into the side of the No. 23 car, slowing both of them down and handing the victory to a delighted Elliott.
Gordon was asked after the race if he himself felt a sense of disappointment about past races which got away from him, as Kansas did for Hamlin on his hunt for 60 race wins.
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Gordon: Hamlin will get more chances to win
The four-time Cup Series champ admitted: "I can’t remember many of the ones I won, but I can tell you all the ones I lost. Those decisions haunt you, mis-shifts and bad choices on restarts and whatever it might be, especially if it was on your watch or in your hands.
"I don’t know what was going to happen there if Denny wrapped the bottom instead of kind of using Bubba up, but I still think Chase had a great shot at it because of the new tires and the run he had going into three.
"Yeah, Denny’s having a great year. He signed a new contract. I don’t think he’s done winning. But when you have the opportunity – he’s probably more disappointed that the cautions came out when he had the lead and wanted to see it finish out that way.
"But the way he’s running right now and the way that team is, I think he’s going to get some more opportunities."
The Cup Series playoff Round of 12 will conclude this Sunday at the Charlotte Roval, with Hamlin among those looking to join Elliott in the Round of 8.
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