Gordon Steams to Darlington Win

Gordon Steams to Darlington Win

DARLINGTON, S.C. ??” When you??™re hot, you??™re hot, and Jeff Gordon is the hottest driver on the Nextel Cup circuit.

I mean he is on a roll.

Gordon fought an overheating engine in his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet for the final 60 laps to win Sunday??™s Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway, for his third win of the 2007 season.

Even Gordon said his engine should have blown up.

???That??™s the way you win races,??? said Gordon. ???There??™s no way, ever, that thing should have made it. We were pegged on all the gauges and spewing out water for lap after lap. There??™s no way that thing should have made it to the end.

Gordon??™s win wasn??™t pretty, but he did have a good car, and he was able to collect his seventh Darlington win.

He took the lead with 19 laps to go in the 367-lap race, after his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, who was the race leader, decided to pit for tires. When Johnson returned to the track, he was seventh, and he was never able to challenge for the lead, again.

Gordon pulled away from Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It appeared Gordon would win the race, but Denny Hamlin, winner of the Darlington Busch race, made it close.

The driver of the Joe Gibbs No. 11 had two bad pit miscues by his team that cost him several positions. Near the end, his lap times were a little better than Gordon??™s, but he ran out of laps before he could catch Gordon, and had to settle for second.

???I know we??™ve got to stop this,??? said Hamlin. ???I??™m frustrated, but I??™m happy for second. This has got to end. We??™ve got to win a race, sooner or later, and we keep giving them away.

???Everybody keeps talking about how we should have won another race, but this was our race.???

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a lot of problems over the race weekend, but he still managed an eighth-place finish.

???I??™m pretty happy,??? he said. ???My guys did a good job of giving me a good car, and they made the right call to stay out there near the end. I was hoping we could have done a little better, and I got into the wall there one time.???

This is the fifth race for the new car, and Hendrick Motorsports has won all five of them.

Finishing order: 1. Jeff Gordon, 2. Denny Hamlin, 3. Jimmie Johnson, 4. Ryan Newman, 5. Carl Edwards, 6. Tony Stewart, 7. Matt Kenseth, 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 9. Clint Bowyer, 10. Jeff Burton, 11. Martin Truex Jr., 12. Kurt Busch, 13. Sterling Marlin, 14. Mark Martin, 15. Greg Biffle, 16. Jamie McMurray, 17. Kevin Harvick, 18. J.J. Yeley, 19. Bobby Labonte, 20. Kasey Kahne, 21. Elliott Sadler, 22. Jeff Green, 23. Juan Montoya, 24. Kenny Wallace, 25. Kyle Petty, 26. Ricky Rudd, 27. David Ragan, 28. Joe Nemechek, 29. Johnny Sauter, 30. David Gilliland, 31. Paul Menard, 32. Dave Blaney, 33. David Reutimann, 34. David Stremme, 35. Casey Mears, 36. A.J. Allmendinger, 37. Kyle Busch, 38. Robby Gordon, 39. Tony Raines, 40. Reed Sorenson, 41. Ken Schrader, 42. Kevin LePage, 43. Brian Vickers.

Top 12 points leaders: 1. J. Gordon-1,881, 2. Johnson-1,650, 3. Kenseth-1,582, 4. Hamlin-1,539, 5. J. Burton-1,486, 6. Stewart-1,375, 7. Kurt Busch-1,325, 8. Harvick-1,315, 9. Bowyer-1,302, 10. Edwards-1,291, 11. Kyle Busch-1,281, 12. Earnhardt-1,260.

Hamlin Gets Busch Win

Denny Hamlin held off a furious late-race charge by Mark Martin to win the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway on Friday night.

Hamlin, a Virginia native, stopped his No. 20 Chevrolet on the frontstretch to receive a Virginia Tech flag from a team member then drove a victory lap with it around the track.

???It means a lot to myself and everyone from Virginia to get this win for them,??? Hamlin said. ???This one is dedicated to them.???

The win is Hamlin??™s third in the Busch Series, second consecutive at Darlington and first in the series since his last Darlington victory last season.

Series points leader Carl Edwards finished third, Jeff Burton was fourth and Clint Bowyer completed the top five.

Edwards, the points leader, enjoys a 433-point lead over Kevin Harvick, the second-place driver.

Top 10 Busch Series leaders: 1. Edwards-1,958, 2. Harvick-1,525, 3. Reutimann-1,359, 4. Blaney-1,353, 5. Kenseth-1,280, 6. Ragan-1,270, 7. Hamilton Jr.-1,252, 8. Smith-1,238, 9. Montoya-1,227, Biffle-1,215.

Most Popular Driver Voting Begins

Fans may begin voting for their Most Popular Driver Award. One million votes have been cast to date, and surpassing last year??™s total of 2.8 million votes is in sight.

This year the competition is among many of the favorites from last year. The top 10 drivers after six races include in alphabetical order: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip.

Fans are encouraged to continue voting once a day, every day for their favorite driver. After voting the first time at MostPopular Driver.com, fans can register for the monthly online newsletter and complete a sweepstakes entry. Every time thereafter fans visit the site to cast a vote, they will be entered to win monthly prizes as well as a Grand Prize trip for two to the NMPA Myer Brothers Award Luncheon and presentation of the Most Popular Driver Award in New York. Entries must be received by Oct. 1, 2007.

Votes will continue to be counted every day through the remainder of the season. Fans should vote once a day, every day before Monday, Nov. 19, 2007, at 11:59 a.m. CST to advance their favorite driver to the top of the standings.

Weekend Racing Schedule

The Craftsman Trucks and Nextel Cup teams will be at the 1.5-mile Lowe??™s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Friday, May 18

Craftsman Trucks Quaker Steak TV: Speed Channel; Distance: 134 laps; Defending champion: Kyle Busch.

Saturday, May 19

Nextel All-Star Challenge. This is a nonpoints, all-star event that showcases race winners from the previous and current Nextel Cup seasons, plus the winner of the Nextel All-Star Challenge Open, a preliminary event for teams not qualified for the all-star event, and another Open driver who wins a fan vote into the all-star event.

Competing in this year??™s event will be Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, the Nextel Open winner, the Nextel Open runner-up and one driver voted in by fans.

The four 20-lap segments will be televised on Speed Channel, beginning at 7 p.m. (EST), on Saturday, May 19.

Racing Trivia Question: How many Craftsman Truck Series championships has Jack Sprague won?

Last Week??™s Question: Who replaced Mark Martin in the Roush Fenway No. 6 Cup car?

Answer: David Ragan.

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