Gordon thankful for safety devices after hit

Crash on Lap 190 sends No. 24 hard into wall at Pocono Raceway

By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
June 12, 2006
10:04 AM EDT (14:04 GMT)
LONG POND, Pa. -- A frightening crash on Lap 190 of the Pocono 500 left Jeff Gordon with a massive headache and a spot outside the top 10 in points.
Gordon was heading into Pocono Raceway's Turn 1 when his Chevrolet suddenly shot into the grass, sending him hurtling into the SAFER barrier at full speed.
"That was one of the hardest hits I have ever taken," Gordon said. "Between the soft wall and the seat and the safety device, I never got knocked out and I was surprised that I feel pretty good."
The impact was concentrated on the driver's side of the racecar. The wreck so badly damaged his car that it took safety crews two attempts to load it onto a rollback truck.
Gordon was seen and released from the infield care center, but not after a lengthy check, and he spoke only briefly after the race. He theorized that a brake rotor failed on the car.
"I think we broke a right-front brake rotor," Gordon said. "Probably one of the worst things you can ask of in a racecar is for the brakes to go out in Turn 1 in Pocono."
The incident was similar to Ken Schrader's 2003 crash here, when his brakes failed and sent him flipping into the Turn 1 wall.
Gordon was credited with a 34th-place finish, knocking him back at 11th in the standings, 25 points behind 10th-place Kyle Busch.
It was Gordon's third finish of 30th or worse in the past five races.

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I have got to admit to all of you out there...I am a big hater of Gordon's...But when I saw him wreck like that...I almost cried AND the first thing out of my mouth was "Is He OK???"

Even when Jeff talked after the race I could see how really shookin up he was. It had to be the hardest hit he has ever had...I think it actually humbled him for at least a moment.

Just my thoughts