GM RACING PERFORMANCE POINTS
After 16 Winston Cup races so far this season, the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings are top-heavy with GM drivers. Chevrolet drivers hold four of the top five spots and six of the top 10. Jeff Gordon is second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in third, Bobby Labonte in fourth and Michael Waltrip in fifth. Jimmie Johnson ranks seventh, while Kevin Harvick is ninth. Chevrolet’s Tony Stewart, the defending series champion, is 11th, followed by Robby Gordon in 13th. Pontiac’s Ricky Craven is 14th, the top Grand Prix, and Terry Labonte is 15th in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Chevrolet is approaching a milestone this week at Daytona International Speedway. Robby Gordon’s victory June 22 at Infineon Raceway was the 399th of NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present). Given Chevrolet’s recent domination of restrictor-plate racing at Daytona, chances are the nameplate will enjoy its 400th on Saturday night. The first victory for Chevrolet in the modern era of NASCAR came March 26, 1972 at Atlanta International Raceway, when Bobby Allison tracked down Bobby Isaac and A.J. Foyt in the closing laps after trailing the lead pair by seven seconds with 30 laps remaining. Allison passed Foyt for the lead and the victory with just four laps left. Allison’s victory in Dick Howard’s No. 12 Coca-Cola Monte Carlo was the first Superspeedway victory for Chevrolet since Junior Johnson won the Charlotte National 400 in October 1963. Interesting note: Johnson was team manger for Allison on Howard’s team that day.
Pontiac earned its first pole of the season June 20 at Infineon Raceway. Boris Said, filling in for Mike Wallace at the first of two road course events, was fastest in both practice sessions on the 1.99-mile road course in northern California, despite a pinion failure near the end of the first practice session. After a serious thrash in the garage, the MB2 Motorsports crew got the U.S. Army Grand Prix out in time for Said to run two more hot laps. He was again fastest and parked the car for qualifying. Said drew late in the qualifying order and knocked eventual race winner Robby Gordon off the pole with his track-record lap.
