Gordon finishes 42nd, is ready to roll the dice

BROOKLYN, Mich.

Jeff Gordon said the pressure is off.

Gordon finished 42nd Sunday at Michigan and fell to ninth in the points standings. Clint Bowyer and David Ragan, who are tied for 13th and outside the Chase, are only 82 points behind Gordon, whose winless streak was extended to 28 races.

"In some ways, this is an easier position to be in; we just go out there and run hard every weekend," he said.

"We can take chances and do things that could maybe get us that win."

It wasn't a great day for Gordon, whose pit crew had two slow stops. The second left him in heavy traffic and led to his problems. He ran three wide with Tony Stewart high and Jimmie Johnson in the middle when trouble occurred.

Stewart drifted toward the wall and came down on Johnson, who hit Gordon's car. Johnson pitted to fix his left front fender. Gordon didn't stop. His right front tire blew a few laps later, sending him into the wall.

"We shouldn't have been back there to begin with," Gordon said.

Roush drivers dominate

Roush Fenway Racing continued to dominate at Michigan International Speedway, placing all five teams in the top 10.

Behind winner Carl Edwards, David Ragan placed third with Greg Biffle fourth, Matt Kenseth fifth and Jamie McMurray 10th. Ragan's finish tied his career best.

Roush Fenway has won five of the last nine Cup races at Michigan.

Gibbs expects penalties

NASCAR officials are expected to levy penalties this week against Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide teams of Tony Stewart and Joey Logano after they were caught interfering with post-race inspections.

J.D. Gibbs, team president, admitted that what was done was "an intentional opportunity to lead someone astray."

This comes a few weeks after a NASCAR rule change cut the horsepower for Toyota cars in the Nationwide series.

"A couple of guys chose to make a decision there that really impacts all of us," Gibbs said.

Gibbs said neither driver was involved.

He met with NASCAR before Sunday's race.

pit passes

Scott Riggs' 15th-place finish put him back in the top 35 in car-owner points, meaning he'll be guaranteed a starting spot this week at Bristol. He knocked AJ Allmendinger out of the top 35.

- Dustin Long