When Jimmie Johnson crashed on lap 3 Sunday, he presented polesitter Jeff Gordon with an unexpected opportunity.

Unfortunately, the driver of the #24 Chevrolet couldn't capitalise on Johnson's ill fortune.

Though Gordon won at Texas in April, the struggles that characterised his earlier efforts at the 1.5-mile track returned in full force Sunday.

“I think more than anything — a missed opportunity,” was Gordon's assessment of a 13th-place finish that left him third in the Sprint Cup standings, 112 points behind Johnson. “I'm just terrible at this place. I don't know what it is. I can qualify, and the guys gave me a real good car on Friday, but I just don't have the feel for this place. It just challenged us all day today...

“It was a frustrating day, kind of a more typical Texas day for us, rather than what we had in April. So it was a missed opportunity when the #48 (Johnson) had trouble, so I'm bummed about that. (Crew chief) Steve Letarte did a great job getting us to 13th — the whole team did.”

by Reid Spencer/Sporting News