Road Master: Gordon Wins at Infineon

SONOMA, Calif. (June 27, 2004) – Jeff Gordon went to Victory Lane at Infineon Raceway on Sunday, scoring his 67th career win at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series level. It was the 16th time the two-time champion has triumphed when starting from the pole position and his fourth first-place finish at the two-mile Sonoma road course. Gordon, who has now won from the pole three times at Infineon, now has eight career road course victories, extending his all-time NASCAR record. Driving the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, Gordon led 92 laps of the 110-lap event -- the most ever paced by a race winner at Infineon -- and became only the fifth driver to lead more than 500 road course laps in his career. The performance marked the Vallejo, Calif., native’s third victory of the 2004 NEXTEL Cup season, tying him with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and teammate Jimmie Johnson for most on the circuit. Gordon moved from sixth to fourth in the championship standings, just 20 points behind third-place Matt Kenseth. Driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Jimmie Johnson rallied from a 34th-place starting position to finish fifth, widening his NEXTEL Cup points lead to 27 markers over second-place Earnhardt. It was Johnson’s series-leading 11th top-five result in 16 events this year. Brian Vickers started 39th and finished 22nd in the No. 25 GMAC Financial Services Chevy, sliding one position to 20th in the standings with a pair of top-10 performances on the season. The rookie was followed by teammate Terry Labonte, who started 15th and finished 40th in the No. 5 Kellogg’s Monte Carlo. Labonte is now 24th in championship points.