Martin Wins at Phoenix, Gordon wins at Texas....and where's Rick Hendrick?

  

  
NASCAR's pit road cops are cracking heavy....and Jeff Gordon was hit too. Is that new NASCAR rule about lug nuts causing too many problems on pit road? Every team is struggling. (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  
   
By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   PHOENIX
   So car owner Rick Hendrick, though home in North Carolina watching this bit of history on TV, stretched his Phoenix winning streak Saturday night, but with Mark Martin winning, rather than Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson.
    Gordon's bid for two in a row on the tour failed early when he drew a pit road penalty for lug nuts.
    He wound up a disappointed 25th.
   "There were a lot of things that were unfortunate…it just wasn't our night," Gordon grumbled. "We struggled.
    "I haven't been feeling good this weekend. My back is hurting. And when you're feeling like that, you can't really give good information to the team.
    "Then we had some issues in the pits.
    "It was just all around a tough night.
    "But I'm really excited about Mark Martin winning. That's so cool.
    "I know how badly he wanted to win. He's got a car and a team that can do it…and he's one driving fool."
    Part of Gordon's trouble was self-inflicted, with run-ins with Denny Hamlin, that dinged his fenders. "Me and Denny got together," Gordon said. "Then Michael Waltrip and Robby Gordon spun out in front of me.
   "And Todd Bodine, I was trying to pass him and he didn't know it.
    "It was just one of those crazy nights."
    Johnson, who was going for his fourth straight here, rallied to finish fourth.
   "We had some issues with lug nuts falling off, due to the glue we used," Johnson said, echoing a problem that has bedeviled just about everyone on the tour this season for some odd reason.
    "Then every time we would make up a bunch of spots and get up there in the thick of things, we would come down pit road and have a problem with those lug nuts falling off. It happened like three times.
   "And track position is so important here."