Gordon Picks Up Another Top-Five

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Oct. 6, 2003) – Jeff Gordon finished fifth at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, marking his third top-five finish in three races at the 1.5-mile track and his third fifth-place result in the last trio of NASCAR Winston Cup Series events. The performance kept Gordon, who started seventh in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, solidly in sixth place in championship points with one victory, 11 top-fives and 15 top-10s. After setting a new track record in Friday’s qualifying session, Jimmie Johnson started 43rd after damaging his primary car in Saturday’s final practice session and was forced to a backup for Sunday’s race. Still, Team Lowe’s Racing was able to lead three times for a total of 20 laps before finishing two spots behind Gordon, in seventh overall. “I'm so proud of my guys,” Johnson said. “It was just a great day. To overcome everything we did is amazing. The guys could have gotten down and they didn't. They stepped it up, didn't let it get them down. “It was just an awesome, awesome day. I'm so proud of my team.” Johnson slid from fourth to fifth in Winston Cup points, just 16 markers behind fourth-place Ryan Newman, who won his eighth race of the season on Sunday. Driving the No. 5 Kellogg’s / got milk? Chevy, Terry Labonte started 34th and came in 16th at Kansas, marking his 16th top-20 finish over the past 18 races. The two-time champion remains 10th in the driver standings, just 64 points behind ninth-place Kurt Busch. After fighting an ill-handling race car for much of the afternoon, Joe Nemechek made contact with the Kansas retaining wall, finishing 37th after qualifying 30th in the No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet. The Lakeland, Fla., native remains 25th in the championship standings with one victory, two top-fives and five top-10 finishes on the season. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will next visit the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the Saturday-night running of the UAW-GM Quality 500 on Oct. 11. Broadcast live on NBC and PRN Radio beginning at 7 p.m. ET, it will mark the 31st of 36 races this season.