NASCAR NEXTEL CUP NOTEBOOK: Gordon's hopes for title go up in smoke (The Myrtle Beach Sun News)

TALLADEGA, Ala.Jeff Gordon's championship hopes took a hit Sunday when the four-time NASCAR champion got caught up in an 11-car crash midway through the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Gordon's Hendrick Motor-sports crew managed to get his battered No. 24 Chevrolet back on the track to make up a few places and scavenge a few extra points later in the race, but Gordon still wound up 36th, his second straight finish near the bottom of the field. "You know what, I've said all along if it's ...