Gordon recovers to beat Busch for final Chase spot

Jeff Gordon’s hopes of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup looked to be almost over at one point Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

But, after a long rain delay, Gordon and his team made adjustments and his car became a rocket ship. After the rain stopped and the race continued he drove to the front while Kyle Busch struggled with an ill-handling car and faded from contention.

Those factors, as well as a loose lug nut that cost Busch valuable seconds on his final pit stop, resulted in Gordon earning the final wild-card spot in the Chase.

Busch finished 16th while Gordon finished second, giving Gordon a three-point edge for that wild-card berth. Gordon finished second in the final two regular-season races to move into wild-card contention.