Jeff Gordon
Back In The
Winner's Circle!

Fontana, CA: Is Jeff Gordon at it again? With back to back wins, it appears the 4-Time Winston Cup Champion is on track to capture the 1st Nextel Cup Championship. Jeff clearly had his car in buff condition despite a slight brush with the wall on lap 7 when Tony Stewart moved up the track into the left side of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet. Tony apologized saying he didn't realize Jeff was there.

Throughout the race, Jeff remained at the front of the field. He battled with the very hot Kasey Kahne and team mate, Jimmie Johnson. But at the end of the race, it was once again the hard charging Bobby Labonte who posed the biggest threat. After that, it was the Gas Gremlin who came out to guzzle up the precious fluid and smack down the efforts of the #18, #19 and #9. Jeff was able to make it to the end of the race, running out of fuel during his victory celebration.

It was after the 5th caution of the day that Jimmie Johnson was finally able to lead the race. He had been exchanging places in the top 10 with Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Gregg Biffle and others. Then, on lap 106, the #48 Lowes Chevrolet got past Kasey Kahne to take over the top spot. He kept that position for 46 laps before he was overtaken by Jeff Gordon. In the wild melee at the end of the race, he hung on to finish 2nd. Jimmie is staying close to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the point standings, keeping the 2nd position there as well.

A lucky break for Ryan Newman had him finishing 3rd in the #12 Alltel Dodge. Ever the conservator of fuel, Ryan was in the right spot as others had to pit during the final laps for gas & go stops. He is slowly inching his way up the point standings chart, now 7th.

Matt Kenseth moved up to lead the race on lap 56. But, he was soon overtaken by Jeff Gordon. He fell back into the field, trying to stay within reach of the top 10. He too was able to take advantage of the fuel situation, bringing the #17 DeWalt Ford in 4th, the same position he holds in Championship points. The biggest blow made by the Gas Gremlin was the demise of Bobby Labonte. Once again in hot pursuit of the leader, he was within striking distance of Jeff Gordon when the tank of the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet went dry. Slowing down on the last lap, Bobby wriggled back and forth hoping to make it across the Start/Finish line before he stopped completely. Fortunately, he was able to glide across to finish 5th. Already providing us with heart palpitating thrills in the final laps, this was Bobby's 4th top 10 finish of the season.

Making his first appearance in the top 10, Brendan Gaughan had a great day bringing the #77 Kodak Dodge in 6th. Terry Labonte showed us that some of the so called "Old Timers" still had the right stuff. He finished 7th in the #5 Kelloggs Chevrolet. Another strong finish by the #41 Target Dodge saw Casey Mears in the top 10 for the 3rd time this season. He came in 8th. Kevin Harvick had a small collision with Dale Jarrett on lap 202. He was able to overcome the damage and finished 9th in the #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet.

Despite a spin through the infield at the restart on lap 63, Ward Burton kept the #0 NetZero Chevrolet on the lead lap. He finished 10th.

Although Kasey Kahne started the race on the pole and led the most laps in the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, he fell victim to the Gas Gremlin on the final lap and finished 13th. Jeremy Mayfield had been running in the top 10 for most of the day as well. He also ran out of gas falling from 3rd to 14th in the #19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge.

For the 3rd consecutive week, Tony Stewart was the focal point of controversy. This week while trying to make his way to the front in the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet, Tony came into contact with Rusty Wallace. Both cars suffered minor damage. But on the next lap, Tony vented his anger and pushed Rusty into the outside wall. Now, both vehicles had damage that would prevent them from running well in the race.

Unfortunately, Rusty later found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kurt Busch lost control of his #97 Sharpie Ford and spun into the #2 Miller Lite Dodge. During the post-incident interview, Rusty expressed his displeasure with Tony Stewart. Formerly a supporter of Tony's driving technique, Rusty wondered at Tony's recent overly aggressive behavior.

Apparently, a pre-race interview with NASCAR officials did little to deter Tony. The officials did review the prior 2 races and determined that those occurrences had been incidental contact normal to racing. Many drivers did not agree.

Article by S. Kipple
05/02/04

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