Gordon Completes Martinsville Sweep!

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 20, 2003) – With a visit to Victory Lane in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon capped a stellar day for Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, where HMS placed all four teams in the top 20. Gordon scored his second win in as many races at Martinsville this year, giving him a season sweep at the half-mile oval. A four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, Gordon scored his second win in as many races at Martinsville this year, giving him a season sweep at the half-mile oval. He was followed by teammates Jimmie Johnson (second), Terry Labonte (sixth) and Joe Nemechek (20th). It was the second time in 2003 that a Hendrick driver has swept Winston Cup events at a track. Johnson also accomplished the feat, winning both races at New Hampshire International Speedway earlier in the year. “I tell you what, I wish we could race at Martinsville every weekend,” said Gordon, who started from the pole position and led 313 of 500 laps. “What a great day for us, a great weekend. “This team is on top of their short-track game so well, and really all-together on top of their game the last five races. I really hate that we had that August and part of September like we did. I’d love to be up there battling for that championship, but that kind of took us back a little bit. “We’re just fighting back as hard as we can to win races and finish the season on a positive note, and this will certainly help do that.” The victory was the 63rd of Gordon’s 361-race career and his fifth all-time at Martinsville. It was the first season sweep at the track since 1994 and the first Chevrolet sweep there since 1989. “It was a great performance -- he’s the master,” Johnson said. “Everybody knows how many victories he has (at Martinsville) and how successful he’s been here. “He’s Jeff Gordon. He doesn’t crack under pressure and sometimes when you count him out, he steps back up.” Johnson’s runner-up finish was his 10th top-five of the season and the team’s second consecutive top-three showing after finishing third at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Oct. 11. “I’ve been struggling this entire weekend,” Johnson said. “The fastest I was all weekend was 24th or 25th on the board, and to be able to get things figured out and sorted out on how to drive the track and finish second is such a cool accomplishment. It means a lot to me. “This is one of the places that is hardest mentally to drive, and even after being spun out and all kinds of crazy stuff happened to us today, we still ended up with a good finish.” Still fifth in the standings, Johnson and Team Lowe’s Racing have three victories and 16 top-10 finishes this season. Labonte’s sixth-place result marked his ninth top-10 of 2003 in the No. 5 Kellogg’s / got milk? Chevy and kept him solidly in NASCAR’s Top 10. The two-time Winston Cup champion remains ninth overall in championship points. “It was a good run for us today,” said Labonte, who started his 200th short-track race at Martinsville. “The car ran well all day and the guys had great pit stops. It was a good day in points for us.” Driving the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Monte Carlo, Nemechek finished 20th after starting 22nd and moved to 25th in the Winston Cup driver standings. The Lakeland, Fla., native led 19 laps, but a tight-handling race car and 15 caution periods made passing difficult. Nemechek has one victory, two top-fives and five top-10s this season. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will next visit Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 26. NBC and PRN Radio will broadcast the event live beginning at 12 p.m. ET.