Robby Gordon thought he had cars good enough to win two races Sunday. A broken part and rain ruined his bid.Gordon was knocked out of the Indianapolis 500 late in the race when the gear box in his car broke as he left pit road, and he finished 22nd.

It did allow Gordon to get an early start on his trip to the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C.: He already was on the plane eating turkey sandwiches when Gil de Ferran took the checkered flag at Indy.

Gordon’s car was strong in the Winston Cup race, but he was in 17th place when it was called off because of rain after 276 laps.

Gordon’s attempt to run 1,100 miles in one day ended up falling short at 824.

“We were easily as good as anybody else out there,” Gordon said of Indy. “The gears worked fine from first to second, but from second to third it broke the gear box.”

It was one of many hitches in Gordon’s day. Midway through the NASCAR race, he and teammate Kevin Harvick banged cars as Harvick tried to pass him. The contact probably caused a flat left tire that prompted Harvick to pit.

“Why does” Gordon “have to be the hardest car on the track to pit?” Harvick complained over his radio.

“Kevin, don’t worry about it. We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” car owner Richard Childress responded.

Gordon’s day got off to a poor start when his police escort never arrived at the hotel and he had to navigate his own way to the track. He jumped onto the tail of another caravan that did have an escort and arrived at the track seemingly relaxed as he snacked on a granola bar.

“I feel good. Real good,” Gordon said as he walked along the racetrack to his car. “It’s going to be a great day.”