Jeff Gordon : News

GORDON FINISHES SECOND AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY; NOW THIRD IN STANDINGS

California. (Feb. 25, 2007) - Jeff Gordon started from the pole and finished second in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway on Sunday. When the green flag fell on the 500-mile event, Gordon slipped to third after only one lap and was seventh after five laps.

Gordon stopped for fuel, four tires and chassis adjustments during a lap 16 caution. After restarting 32nd, he began to maneuver through the field. Gordon climbed into the top 20 on lap 48, and was running in the top 10 only three laps later when a caution flag waved during green flag pit stops.

Once the race restarted, the driver of the No. 24 DuPont Cromax Pro Chevrolet continued to pick off positions. On lap 135, Gordon passed Matt Kenseth for the lead -- securing five valuable bonus points for leading a lap.

He was still running fourth when the day's final caution waved on lap 242. On the restart, Gordon drove by Jeff Burton to grab the second position. He was unable to catch eventual winner Kenseth, but secured his second consecutive top 10 and moved up to third in the point standings.

"We started on the pole and went backwards pretty fast," Gordon said after the race. "We made some adjustments in practice yesterday because we were so loose, and we were just so tight at the beginning of the race. We couldn't get those adjustments out until we made some pit stops."

"We had a fast race car and there were times we were able to show it and we were racing up there with Matt (Kenseth) and Tony (Stewart). It's great when you have a good race car and the guys are making good adjustments and good pit stops."

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will take next weekend off before returning to action on March 11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. Fox and PRN Radio will broadcast the race live beginning at 4 p.m. ET.

Auto Club 500 Results:

  1. Matt Kenseth
  2. Jeff Gordon
  3. Jimmie Johnson
  4. Jeff Burton
  5. Mark Martin
  6. Clint Bowyer
  7. Kurt Busch
  8. Tony Stewart
  9. Kyle Busch
  10. Brian Vickers

Point Standings:

  1. Mark Martin
  2. Jeff Burton
  3. Jeff Gordon
  4. Kevin Harvick
  5. David Ragan
  6. Clint Bowyer
  7. Joe Nemechek
  8. J.J. Yeley
  9. Kyle Busch
  10. David Stremme

MEDIA INFORMATION:
Jesse Essex, Hendrick Motorsports
704-455-0527
jessex@hmsracing.com

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