Watkins Glen recap: Gordon 10th, Martin inside race for Chase

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 8, 2010) – Jeff Gordon earned his 13th top-10 finish of the season while Mark Martin broke into the top 12 in the driver standings in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Watkins Glen International. Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, opened Sunday’s race from the 16th position and steadily climbed through the field. He remains second in the driver standings with four races remaining till the field is set for the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, entered the 90-lap affair only 34 points outside of the top 12. The NASCAR veteran smoothly negotiated the 2.45-mile course and finished 19th, while Clint Bowyer, the driver previously ranked 12th in the standings, experienced a chassis issue and finished 32nd. Martin, now ranked 12th, owns a 10-point advantage over Bowyer, who dropped to 13th. Jimmie Johnson opened Sunday’s race in the ninth position and worked with his team to find the right handling for his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. With under 10 laps left in the race, Johnson was involved in an accident in Turn 7. His team hammered out the damage, and Johnson was scored with a 28th-place finish. Johnson is ranked fifth in the driver standings. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was scored 26th after his team spent most of the race finding a solution for the handling of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet. Earnhardt, who opened Sunday’s race 40th, ranks 16th in the driver standings, 121 points out of 12th-place.