Remarkable run at Richmond has shaped Jeff Gordon’s Chase plan

In his dramatic run to the final Chase position last Saturday at Richmond, Jeff Gordon got a glimpse of the future. The amazing turnaround of a car that was junk when the race started but capable of driving through the field to second place by the time it ended provided a blue for the way Gordon will run the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. In Gordon’s view, falling off the lead lap into the 27th spot before rain stopped the race for 51 minutes might have been a blessing in disguise. Under caution during the rain delay, Gordon’s crew disconnected the rear sway bar, making a quantum improvement in the handling of the No. 24 Chevrolet. “Sometimes, actually, it’s the best thing that can happen to you,” Gordon said of the car’s poor performance early in the race. “The worst thing that can happen is you being 10th, because you’re like, ‘OK, we’re 10th, or sixth, and we’ll just fine-tune. We don’t want to lose track position, and we’re just going to fine-tune air pressure,