 |
 |
 |
| Home |
| Nextel Cup |
| Busch Series |
| Photo Gallery |
| Forum |
| Silly Season |
| Newsletter |
| Racefan's Rave |
| Fire and Ice |
| Nextel Cup Series |
Pepsi 400 - Daytona International Speedway
Gordon Wins Second in a Row
Gordon Grabs Third Straight Pole
Jeff Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates have shut the door on DEI’s restrictor-plate dominance. Gordon and Jimmie Johnson proved too strong for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the remainder of the field on Saturday night to give Gordon the victory in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Gordon passed Tony Stewart for the lead on lap 154 and, with a solid push from teammate Johnson, pulled off his second restrictor-plate win in a row - Gordon also won at Talladega in the spring. Gordon won by .143 seconds over Johnson, who continues to lead the Nextel Cup point standings by 27 points. The win is the second consecutive trip to victory lane for Gordon, after winning on the road course in Sonoma last week. Gordon scored his fourth win of the season, fifth at Daytona, and the 68th of his career. The win is also his second straight from the pole position, giving him a total of 17 wins from the pole in his career. Gordon led the most laps in the event, pacing the field five times for a total of 61 laps. Johnson finished in the second position followed by Earnhardt Jr. in third. Kurt Busch came home in fourth place, while Tony Stewart rounded out the top five.
Jeff Gordon is bringing back visions of the past when he and the No. 24 team were dominating the Cup circuit. Coming off a week where he led every practice, won the pole, and came close to leading every lap in winning the race in Sonoma, Gordon picked up right where he left off. Gordon was quickest in Thursday’s practice and transferred that into yet another pole position. Gordon qualified in 47.705 seconds, at an average speed of 188.660 mph, to win the pole for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, his third consecutive Nextel Cup pole position. It is Gordon’s fourth pole of the 2004 season and the 50th of his career. One half of the DEI juggernaut Michael Waltrip will join Gordon on the front row, starting from the outside pole position, while Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett will start from row number two. Daytona 500 winner and pre-race favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. will roll off fifth on the starting grid.