Gordon's Chase Hopes Take Hard Hit in Texas Jeff Gordon has crashed in the race at Texas, a week after his victory returned him to contention in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Gordon had problems with his front left tire Sunday. The four-time Cup champion hit the wall hard and high between the first and second turns on the 75th of 334 scheduled laps at the 1½-mile track. The Hendrick Motorsports team was working on the No. 24 Chevrolet in hopes of getting it back on the track. Gordon said "this is definitely going to hurt," adding his team will "get what we can out of this day and go to Phoenix." After winning at Martinsville, Gordon moved up to a season-high third in points behind Matt Kenseth and his Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson. Only two races remain after Texas.