Jeff Gordon slowed. Matt Kenseth didn't.

That's essentially what happened at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night when Kenseth got into the back of Gordon's car and sent him spinning off the track -- and spiraling to a lowly 28th-place finish.

It's also essentially what's happened off the track in the points race. On Saturday night, Gordon lost two spots in the standings and fell to fifth place, a daunting 532 points behind first-place Kenseth. His bid for a fifth Winston Cup title took a serious hit. Kenseth's bid for his first continued past likely toward certainty.

Kenseth is now 351 points clear of his closest pursuer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the points racing which becomes trademark for the points leader this time of year is actually unnecessary. The way the current points system works, Kenseth could finish last and Junior first in the next two races and Kenseth would still have, at worst, more than 50 points on Junior.

In fact, Kenseth's record margin is so comfortable that the No. 17 team didn't hesitate to lean on the cushion Saturday night. The team took a gamble, pitted late in the race and fell deep into the field. But the gamble, that fresh tires would be more important than track position, worked. Kenseth rocketed through the pack and managed his car up to fourth place before he ran out of laps.

Afterward, he didn't need to answer any questions about points racing and taking things easy. He proved that he doesn't need to, nor intend to, do that. He did answer to two other things, though.

"I wish we would've pitted earlier," Kenseth said of the gamble. "... It was a good call. I probably should have stopped one stop earlier and we might have had a chance at the win, but it really came through on new tires."

As happy as Kenseth was with his strong bid for the victory, and the fact that his fourth-place finish further extended his points lead, he couldn't speak of it very long before offering an apology to Gordon, though.

The significance of Kenseth's wrecking Gordon should be obvious. Gordon was third in the points race, 461 points behind Kenseth, coming into the Bristol night race. Though the Kenseth was still easing his arms around that Cup trophy, a good run by Gordon would have kept his spoiler hopes alive.

With Kenseth's move, which he said was inadvertent, Gordon's hopes have seriously dimmed.

	Jeff Gordon's (24) title hopes might have spun away at Bristol.

"I feel bad for the whole day because of the incident with the 24," Kenseth said. "That was an accident, but it makes me feel horrible. That kind of ruins the whole day for us. ... It's certainly not how you want to race.

"I pulled down to actually get out of his way because he was on new tires and he got by me and then there was a car coming on the outside. He was on the gas and he was coming in front of me real good and I don't think he was sure I was out of there, so I got out of the gas. He got out of the gas at the same time and I just ran him over."

And just as Kenseth's waning-lap turnaround typified this season in which his team seems unable to do anything wrong, Gordon's sour luck typified his season.

Though he didn't comment after the race, while still in his car he voiced frustration -- though not necessarily at Kenseth.

"I don't believe this," he said.

There are several races left to be run, and Gordon certainly has the equipment and talent to climb back up in the standings. But to make up 532 points in 12 races is a feat even a record-setter like him is unlikely to accomplish. Thus, he has ensured himself another offseason of The Questions.

He's gotten to know them well. He can look in a person's eyes and know when they're coming. He's even got well-rehearsed answers to them. What he doesn't have is any inkling as to how anyone would think the questions were justified.

No, the question referred to here has nothing to do with Gordon's personal life -- or the assertion by a Playboy model in the latest issue of Playboy that she was the reason for Gordon's divorce.

The question in reference here goes something more like this: "Jeff, how will you bounce back from your sub-par season last year?"

Sub-par. It takes a four-time champ and 62-race winner to set the bar so high as to warrant such a question after top-five points finishes. Last season, Gordon finished fourth in the points race and won three races. Still, he heard the questions.

	“	I don't believe this. ”
		— Jeff Gordon

"I think it's funny," he said. "I try to put it in perspective. If they're asking me a question like that, it means they expect a lot. And the reason they expect a lot is that I've been fortunate to have experienced so much success in my career. ... It's better than people not expecting anything out of you."

Kenseth can attest to that. Before this season began, he fielded few questions about contending for the 2003 title -- despite the fact that he won more races last season than any other driver.

Slowly, but surely, he's changing NASCAR Nation's opinion of him. And one race at a time, with each action-packed bid for a win (not just points), he's showing the world his true colors.

It happened Saturday night, when Kenseth and Co. made yet another gutsy, but correct, call. But, with regard to those true colors, Kenseth really didn't have too much to say about him and his team's pit strategy. He had other things on his mind.

"I really didn't mean it," he said of wrecking Gordon. "This really puts a damper on the day."

Rupen Fofaria is a freelance writer living in Chicago and a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at rfofaria@espnspecial.com.