TALLADEGA, Ala. — At the track where Dale Earnhardt dominated, and on the day he would have turned 56, Jeff Gordon scored career victory No. 77 to pass Earnhardt for sixth place in all-time wins.
And, as expected, it was wildly unpopular.
Fans littered the track with debris Sunday as Gordon crossed the finish line under caution at Talladega Superspeedway.
"I never caused a riot before for winning — well, maybe once or twice," Gordon laughed.
It was the same reaction he received last week in Phoenix when he tied Earnhardt's mark and flew a No. 3 flag on his victory lap. That gesture didn't sit well with Earnhardt fans, even though Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the tribute classy and urged his "Red Army" of supporters to stop throwing beer cans out of safety concerns.
"I thought Junior had more power," Gordon said. "I thought they'd throw toilet paper, which is what he asked them to throw. I saw maybe one roll."
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Gordon, who was 14th on a restart with 10 laps to go, stormed to the lead a second before NASCAR threw a caution.
It set up a two-lap sprint to the finish, but NASCAR makes only one attempt to complete it. If a caution comes out, the race instantly ends. So when Elliott Sadler bumped the back of Greg Biffle to trigger a wreck, the race was effectively over.
Jimmie Johnson, Gordon's teammate, finished second.
Pit stops
● In Kansas City, Kan., Dan Wheldon picked up his second win in four races this year, dominating the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway. Dario Franchitti was second and Helio Castroneves third. Milka Duno finished 14th in her IRL debut.
● In Commerce, Ga., Ashley Force won the first father-daughter race in NHRA history Sunday, edging 14-time series champion John Force in the first round of Funny Car eliminations in the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Ashley Force lost in the semifinals to eventual runner-up Mike Ashley. Robert Hight picked up the win.
