News and Media Releases

Gordon Leads Points With 2nd-Place Finish

09/03/2009

Fellow Hendrick Motorsports Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have Solid Runs with Mark Martin having Trouble.

Hendrick Motorsports and Quaker State driver Jeff Gordon continued his strong start to the 2009 season on Sunday finishing second in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

Fellow HMS teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. both had solid runs finishing ninth and 11th respectively while Mark Martin found trouble on the track relegating him to a 31st-place finish.

After starting in the 16th position Gordon never raced outside of the top 10 for the remainder of the 500-mile race. The veteran led one time for a total of 47 laps and battled for the lead at different times as well.

The four-time Sprint Cup Champion made a charge for the front under the green-white-checkered finish but just did not have enough to take the win. Gordon’s second-place finish marks his second top-five and third top-10 finish in the first four events of the season. He remains at the top of the NSCS point standings 43 points ahead of the second-place driver.

Defending and three-time champion Jimmie Johnson also had a solid day running in the top-10 for most of the event. A pit road penalty for speeding late in the race put the Quaker State driver out of the top-10 before he battled back to finish ninth.  Johnson led the race one time for 11 laps and now sits just outside the top-12 in points in the 13th position.

Fellow HMS and Quaker State driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fought handling issues with a loose race track throughout the day. The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet raced in the top 15 with a solid top-10 run between lap 80 and lap 200. Junior’s 11th-place run gained him five spots in the point standings moving him into the top-25.

Mark Martin started the weekend out on a high note claiming the pole position for Sunday’s race. The 50-year-old led the first five laps of the event and was running in the top 10 when he lost a right rear tire and made heavy contact with the outside retaining wall.

The No. 5 HMS crew made repairs to Martin’s machine and got their driver back on track to finish the race. Martin took the checkered flag in the 31st position.

Kurt Busch won the Kobalt Tools 500 with Gordon finishing just behind him in second. Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-five.

After taking a week off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee for the running of the Food City 500. Live television coverage begins on Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on FOX. 

The event will also be broadcast live on PRN (Performance Racing Network) and Sirius Satellite Radio with coverage beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).