Driver: Jeff Gordon
Car: No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS
Track: Michigan International Speedway (June 16, 2013)
Bio: The 400-mile race at Michigan International Speedway had not gotten started properly yet when Jeff Gordon ran afoul of Lady Luck. On the seventh of 200 laps, Gordon was involved in a crash in Turn 2 that spoiled his day and caused him to drop five spots in the point standings.
Following Bobby Labonte and Casey Mears through the second turn, Gordon was a touch to the high side. Labonte’s car broke loose and spun in front of Mears and Gordon, and Mears managed to sneak past on the outside before Gordon slammed into the No. 51 Chevrolet with the left front corner. The 24 then careened into the outside retaining wall. Gordon had been hard on the brakes when Labonte spun, and was not able to miss high or slow enough to go low.
The crash caused significant damage to the No. 24 machine, and Gordon spent a long time in the garage getting it repaired. He returned to the track to complete 52 laps and finished 39th. That dropped him from 11th in points, inside the Chase with a wild-card, to outside the Chase in 16th. He would recover to make the Chase as one of six drivers without a victory that season and eventually wound up sixth in the final standings.
The car, which was extensively damaged, was given by Hendrick Motorsports to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the purposes of filling another spot in the Racecar Graveyard soon after.