Gordon, Labonte Earn Top-10s at MIS

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 16, 2003) – Hendrick Motorsports placed two teams in the top 10 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway as Jeff Gordon gained ground in the Winston Cup championship standings, while Terry Labonte continued to impress with another strong run. Driving the No. 24 DuPont Chevy, Gordon finished third at MIS for his fifth top-five and eighth top-10 finish of 2003. The four-time Winston Cup champion, who started sixth on Sunday, is currently third in the driver standings, 223 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. Labonte picked up another top-10 finish in the No. 5 Kellogg’s / got milk? Monte Carlo, crossing the finish line in 10th after starting fifth. The performance marked his third consecutive top-10 showing -- the fourth overall this season for the two-time series champion. After picking up 134 championship points at Michigan, Labonte moved up two positions in the standings to 15th overall, less than 80 markers out of the top 10. Jimmie Johnson finished 16th after starting 11th at MIS in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy and held his ground in championship points at seventh overall. Behind the wheel of the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Monte Carlo, Joe Nemechek came in 21st after starting 12th in his 301st career start. The Lakeland, Fla., native remains 17th in points after 15 races. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will next visit the 1.949-mile Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday, June 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Broadcast live on PRN Radio and the FOX television network, the 112-lap race marks the first of two road-course events on the 2003 schedule.