Gordon was infuriated when NASCAR ordered him to restart 13th for the final two laps. He had just passed Australian Marcos Ambrose for the lead when a multiple-car pileup brought out a yellow flag, but Ambrose knocked him out of the way a few seconds later to reclaim the lead. Gordon was idling sideways as the field roared by him.

Kevin Harvick, involved in that melee, went on to win the race after Gordon refused to retreat from the second position on the final restart and spun Ambrose.

Ambrose, who led a race-high 37 laps, was on the verge of his first Busch Series victory.

NASCAR officials black-flagged Gordon, but he refused to pull off the track. He finished the race ahead of the field and performed celebratory burnouts before being summoned to the NASCAR hauler for reprimand.

"We came here to win the race, and that'* what we did," Gordon said after being placed 18th based on the laps completed. "I did the most laps. I had the first car to complete them; I won the race.

"They (NASCAR) put me in a position to act the way I did with the call they made under the caution."

Gordon, who met with NASCAR officials Sunday, said NASCAR would permit him to race on the road course at Watkins Glen International next week but he expected to be placed on probation and receive other Busch Series penalties. Tharp said his status for Watkins Glen remained under review.

Tharp quoted the rule book when making his announcement, stating that NASCAR may take emergency action against any driver who "constitutes a threat to the orderly conduct of the event."

"The way he performed and his actions on the track, in our mind, certainly disrupted the conduct of that event," he said. "We're not going to permit that, we're not going to allow that."

Gordon celebrated as if he had won at Montreal, doing victory burnouts and pumping his fist at the crowd at the same time as Harvick.