FONTANA, Calif. -- After overcoming a battery of early pitfalls to eventually and perhaps improbably contend for a victory, it was a dejected Jeff Gordon who emerged from the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports hauler post-race Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. I don't know where to begin," said Gordon, whose string of four straight top-10 finishes to open the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was snapped with an unsatisfying 13th in the Auto Club 400. With tires wearing out 20 to 25 laps into a green-flag stretch, Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson read the tea leaves and backed off their pace. More...