Jeff Gordon triumphed in the first ever Car of Tomorrow restrictor plate race at the Talladega Superspeedway having timed his run from the back of the pack to the front to perfection.
Along with several other Chase for the Championship contenders Gordon spent much of the 188-lap UAW-Ford 500 at the back of the field, allowing him to avoid the obligatory multi-car pile-up with less than 50 laps remaining. He then almost silently breezed towards the sharp end of the field along with his Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears before cheekily passing Johnson on the high groove with less than half a lap remaining.
Sunday's win was the fifth of the year for the driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet and his sixth in total at the 2.66-mile Talladega oval, giving the quadruple Nextel Cup Champion a nine point lead in the standings in the process with six races remaining.
The debut of the Car of Tomorrow in restrictor plate trim will not go down as one of Talladega's most exciting races despite no less than 42 lead changes among 22 drivers and Gordon's last lap slingshot pass around the outside of Johnson. Despite the usual early race flurry of lead changes and a typically frantic and caution filled final 50 laps, the field ran in single file formation for much of the mid portion of the race with drivers unwilling, or unable to deviate from the high groove around the massive high-banked oval.
The race was also notable for the fact that many of the Chase contenders chose to stay at the back of the field for much of the race even prepared to lose the main draft of cars in their bid to avoid trouble. However despite their best efforts trouble found nearly half of the 12 title contenders and with Gordon and Johnson finishing first and second and staying out of trouble again, all bar the top four drivers in the standings now find themselves more than 200 points in arrears with six races to go.
![Jeff Gordon - DuPont Chevrolet Impala [pic credit: GM media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/303453.jpg)
