Catchfence

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 17, 2009) – Indianapolis, California and Kansas were done in their first attempt. Michigan, Phoenix and Texas are the three that took more than 10. Now, only Homestead-Miami Speedway remains to be conquered by Jeff Gordon and Team DuPont, and they are looking to do so in the Ford 400 on Sunday in their 11th start at the 1.5-mile track.

“A win in this race would be huge for us,” said Gordon, who has five topfives and eight top-10’s in 10 starts at the Florida track. “This is the last race of the season, and a win gives you confidence and bragging rights over the
offseason.

“And we’ve never won here before.”

Since their arrival full time in NASCAR’s top division in 1993, Gordon and the No. 24 team have adapted quickly to the varying tracks that comprise the championship. It has taken an average of only 6.4 starts per track for Gordon and Team DuPont to capture wins on 21 of the 22 tracks currently on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. In addition to those tracks, Gordon also won at North
Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, N.C. in his fifth attempt and at North Wilkesboro in his eighth – and final – start at the North Carolina short track.

“It would be nice to say that we’ve won on all the tracks, but we want to do it for ourselves – not because of a statistic,” said the 82-time winner. “It’s a victory that has eluded us – so far.

“Our mile-and-a-half program has been good this year, so we are definitely looking forward to this event and possibly battling for the win.”

Gordon, who is third in the standings, is 169 behind teammate and leader Jimmie Johnson. Since 161 is the maximum number of points that can be made up in one event, Gordon will be eliminated from championship contention when Johnson takes the green flag on Sunday. But points are still on Gordon’s mind heading into the season finale.

“We could possibly finish second in final points,” said the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who trails teammate Mark Martin by 61. “And there are some guys right behind us that could possible overtake us.

“We know that a Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver will be this year’s champion. Hopefully, we can make it a 1-2-3 finish in the final standings for HMS.”

And a win will finish off the schedule for Team DuPont.

- Performance PR Plus for DuPont Motorsports, Press Release