Gordon Second at Dover

DOVER, Del. (June 2, 2003) – Jeff Gordon earned his fourth top-five finish of 2003 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, finishing second in the MBNA Armed Forces Family 400. The effort marked the four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion’s 14th top-10 finish in 21 career races at Dover and moved him within 16 points of second place in the championship battle. After 13 races, Gordon is third in the Winston Cup driver standings, just 187 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, who finished seventh on Sunday. Driving the No. 5 Kellogg’s / got milk? Chevrolet with a special “Finding Nemo” paint scheme, Terry Labonte nailed down his second top-10 finish of the 2003 season, coming in 10th at Dover after starting eighth. Sitting just 50 points out of the top 15, and 96 away from a top-10 spot, Labonte remains 17th in Winston Cup points. After going to a back-up car following an accident in practice on Saturday, Joe Nemechek recovered from another incident early in Sunday’s event to finish 24th at Dover in the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevy. Nemechek, who won the NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday, is 13th in championship points, just 41 behind 10th-place Robby Gordon. Jimmie Johnson, who won both events at DIS last season, finished 38th on Sunday after making contact with the backstretch retaining wall on Lap 278. “It’s a big disappointment,” said Johnson, who started fifth in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy. “I feel bad I let it get away from me, but we’ll come back next week.” Team Lowe’s Racing is now seventh in championship points. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will next visit the 2.5-mile Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on June 8 for the Pennsylvania 500. Live coverage of the event will begin at 12:30 p.m. EDT on MRN Radio and the FOX television network.