Go to AutoRacing1's Home PageGo to AutoRacing 1's CART PageGo to AutoRacing1's NASCAR PageGo to AutoRacing 1's F1 PageGo to AutoRacing 1's Links PageGo to AutoRacing1's Race Schedules PageGo to AutoRacing1's Classified Ads PageGo to AutoRacing 1's Rumor's PageGo to AutoRacing1's Hot News PageGo to AutoRacing 1's Discussion ForumsGo to AutoRacing1's Racing Store PageGo to AutoRacing 1's CarTest PageAutoRacing Stock PricesGo to AutoRacing 1's Interviews PageContact the AutoRacing1 Webmaster



October 2, 2001

GORDON WANTS UPSIDE OF ROLLER COASTER THIS WEEKEND AT LOWE'S  

CONCORD, N.C. - Jeff Gordon has experienced the "ups and downs" of
racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway during his nine-year Winston Cup career. 
Sunday, he hopes they are on the "up" side as NASCAR visits the 1.5-mile speedway 
for the UAW-GM Quality 500. 

Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, captured his first
Winston Cup pole in October of 1993 and his first Winston Cup victory in May of
1994, both at Lowe's. Overall at Lowe's, he has four wins, seven poles, nine
top-fives, 10 top-10's and has led in all but one of his 17 starts. Gordon
also has three victories in The Winston, Nascar's all-star race.

On the flipside, he has seven finishes of 28th or worse. The highs and
the lows at Lowe's were evident during an eight-day span earlier this year.
During the running of The Winston, Gordon and other drivers involved in
an accident on the first lap were allowed to restart in backup cars. Gordon
went on to win the event.

A week later, after starting second in the World 600 and leading 27
laps, he made contact with another car on pit road on lap 52 while leading.
The damage, minor in appearance, ruined the handling of the car on the
high-speed track. Gordon finished 29th. "The win in the Winston said a lot about
this race team," Gordon said. "The crew at the track did a great job getting the setup
switched over and the guys at the shop prepared a great car. Everybody at Hendrick
Motorsports contributed to the effort.

"During the ‘600,' we used a different car and I think it was better. We led early but
damaged the right front during the incident on pit road. The aerodynamics were messed
up and the car didn't handle well. "While we lost three laps during the middle portion of
the event, the crew never gave up. During pit stops, they were fixing the fender and the
car ran well at the end of the race. We salvaged the best finish possible and
those points may decide the championship."

Gordon enters the weekend with a 222-point lead over second-place Ricky Rudd, having
added 10 points to his lead after winning the inaugural event at Kansas Speedway last
weekend. Gordon now has six victories, six poles and 20 top-10's in 28 events this season.
He also has 18 top-fives (five more than any other competitor) and has led 1,974 laps
(961 more than any other driver).

With his Kansas victory, Gordon now has wins at 19 of the 23 tracks
currently on the Winston Cup schedule. He has yet to win at Texas, Chicago,
Phoenix and Miami. Mark Martin is second with 16.