NASCAR Despite pit blunder, Nemechek prevails

The pit-road mistake cost him 24 spots, but he still won the race in the rain.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Joe Nemechek overcame a pit-road blunder that cost him 24 spots by gambling on tires and getting help from late-race cautions and rain, to win the Pontiac Excitement 400 on Saturday night.
Nemechek was declared the winner during a red-flagged stoppage with 61/2 laps to go when rain showers that caused the pause persisted. The red flag followed three cautions in the last 30 laps that also helped the Hendrick Motorsports veteran prevail despite his challengers' fresher tires.
Bobby Labonte was second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Robby Gordon, giving Chevrolet a sweep of the top four spots. Mark Martin was fifth in a Ford.
The race featured a track record-setting 15 cautions for 91 laps, and the rain deprived Labonte and Earnhardt from making a late push.
"We really didn't need any of those cautions," Earnhardt said.
Stayed on track
Gordon and Nemechek gambled by staying on the track with four others during a caution with 100 laps to go. When the race went back to green, Gordon was leading, Nemechek was fifth and a handful of contenders were right behind them, counting on fresher tires to carry them forward.
On lap 331, Nemechek passed Gordon for the lead, then pulled away trying to extend his advantage. Chief among his pursuers was Earnhardt, who moved into second on lap 355 as the crowd of 100,000 roared wildly.
Nemechek had built his lead as high as almost two seconds and was easily disposing of lapped traffic when Dale Jarrett spun out on the 363rd lap, the caution erasing the lead and setting up the closing shoot-out.
Held onto lead
Nemechek held onto his lead through three more restarts, taking advantage of a duel for second in which Bobby Labonte finally passed Earnhardt, and then was handed the last 61/2 laps when the race was called.
The victory was a stunner for Nemechek, who seemed to have the best car in the first half of the race, then forced himself to prove it when he missed the turn for pit road and was shuffled from first to 25th place.