By Compiled from Times wires
Published June 2, 2003
DOVER, Del. - Jeff Gordon had an eventful Sunday at Dover International Speedway, where he finished second to Ryan Newman.
But Gordon didn't receive the attention for his determined run at the end. He got it for spinning out Sterling Marlin earlier.
Gordon was apologetic. Marlin was furious.
"The (No.) 24 got up under us and turned us around again," said Marlin, who wound up 35th. "That's twice in three races.
"It's getting kind of old. I don't know what's wrong with the 24, but we need to find out. You've got to give and take in this league, and he has done a lot of taking."
Gordon called it a mistake. He said his car might have hit the apron. He ran up toward the wall and caught the left rear of Marlin's Dodge.
"I'm sure he's mad, and I was mad when I got hit by him one time in Richmond," Gordon said. "Hopefully, we'll get past it and move forward.
"He's not a guy I really talk to a lot and he doesn't talk to me a lot, so I guess we'll see each other on the racetrack."
NO THREE-PEAT: Jimmie Johnson was trying to win for the third week in a row and third consecutive time at Dover but his ill-handling car found the wall on the backstretch.
Johnson won the previous two weekends in the non-points all-star race and the Coca-Cola 600. He led 36 of 400 laps on the Monster Mile but his car was not stable enough to win.
"I just lost it off Turn 2," he said. "I chased it, had it saved a couple of times, but I ran out of racetrack.
"I brushed the outside wall and when I did that, it turned me down into the inside wall."
The crash on Lap 27 was costly for Johnson, who fell from fifth to seventh in the Winston Cup standings.
ODDS AND ENDS: Newman's victory was the first by a Dodge at Dover since Richard Petty in 1975. Dodge was out of the series for 16 years before returning in 2001. ... Newman moved up to 18th in points and trails leader Matt Kenseth by 569 after 13 of 36 races. Kenseth finished seventh and extended his lead over second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. to 171 points. Earnhardt was 11th after being forced to start at the rear because he wrecked his car in practice Saturday and used a backup. ... There were empty seats, a rare sight at the 140,000-capacity facility. Rain fell nearly every day in May and a light shower fell right after the start of the race, run for the most part under an overcast, cool, windy day.
