Team DuPont digging deep for Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (April 27, 2010) – While running first has not been an issue, Jeff Gordon and Team DuPont just need to find that ‘extra little bit’ for Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway. Gordon, who is 10th in the point standings, leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2010 with 45 bonus points for laps led. He has led seven of nine races including the most laps in two events. At Richmond, the front is a familiar spot for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. In his last six races at the 0.75-mile track, Gordon has three top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has led the most laps on two occasions, and the No. 24 Impala has paced the field 504 times during that span – nearly 21 percent of the laps run. But victory has eluded Gordon during that stretch. “I’ve always liked racing here in Richmond, but we went through some races where we sure didn’t have runs we were hoping for and it wasn’t much fun,” said Gordon, referring to four consecutive finishes of 30th or worse in 2005 and 2006. “We seem to have turned it around though, and I’m really looking forward to this weekend’s race.” In 34 career starts at the Virginia track, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has two wins (1996 and 2000), five pole positions (leads all active drivers), 13 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s. He has led the most laps four times and his 1,258 laps led are 359 more than any active driver. But leading the last lap is the most important. “We’ve been pretty close recently, and I don’t think we’re that far off,” said crew chief Steve Letarte. “But it’ll take some work to find that extra little bit. We’ll try some things at the start of practice on Friday that we hope work. “But we know we can fall back on what we’ve run here recently, if need be.”