| | Results
CONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon and Brian Whitesell are
2-for-2.
Gordon caught and passed Bobby Labonte with seven laps to go Monday, pulling away to win the rain-delayed UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"I really should seriously consider retirement right now," Whitesell joked after clambering down from his race perch on the Hendrick Motorsports tool box.
|  | | Jeff Gordon hugs team owner Rick Hendrick in Victory Lane after winning the UAW-GM Quality 500 on Monday.
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Whitesell became Gordon's crew chief on Sept. 28 when Ray
Evernham, the long-term mentor and friend of both, resigned to
begin forming his own team.
Five days later, Whitesell made a late-race decision to keep his
driver on the track while the other contenders pitted, and Gordon
held on to win in Martinsville, Va. This time, Whitesell and the
Rainbow Warriors crew gave their driver some fast pit stops and
kept improving the car throughout the day.
"We were good on long runs, but Bobby Labonte got a great jump
out there," Gordon said. "He was good on new tires. He took off
and I said, 'Man, we're done. We're going to have to race for a
second or third.'
"Then Brian made some small changes, the track came to us a
little bit and the car just came to life. Man, he's awesome. I'm
just so excited about having him."
It was the series-high seventh win this season for Gordon, who
moved into a tie for 10th on the Winston Cup career list with Rusty
Wallace at 49.
Despite the wins, it hasn't been a vintage year for Gordon, now
fourth in the season points after winning three of the last four
championships and finishing second the other year.
"The type of year we've had, we've been up and down, up and
down. But, I'll tell you, this team is psyched, they're pumped
up," Gordon said. "Winning is a big motivator. No telling what
we're going to do in the future, but this year is going great right
now."
Labonte, trying hard to catch runaway leader Dale Jarrett in the
Winston Cup points, dominated the 334-lap race, leading five times
for 136 laps. He appeared on the way to an easy victory before
getting hung up in lapped traffic in the late going.
Labonte had built a lead of nearly three seconds by the 309th of
334 laps, but saw Gordon looming in his rearview mirror after
finally clearing the slower traffic six laps later. After that, it
was just a matter of time as Gordon crept closer and finally moved
by Labonte on the backstretch of the 1½-mile oval on lap 327.
"That (traffic) cost a second and a half loss of time and I
probably used up my right-front tire trying to get by those guys,"
said the bitterly disappointed Labonte. "It definitely wasn't the
kindest thing I've ever seen.
"That plays a big role in your race when you run the last
hundred and some laps under the green and you lose by less than a
second."
Gordon's Chevrolet crossed the finish line .851 seconds -- about
10 car-lengths -- ahead of Labonte's Pontiac. The winner, who led
three times for just 16 laps, earned $140,350, while polesitter
Labonte totaled $157,250.
There were only two caution flags for a total of nine laps in
the race postponed from Sunday. Gordon's average speed of 160.306
mph broke the previous 500-mile race record -- 154.537 by Ernie
Irvan in October 1993 -- at the suburban Charlotte track.
Jarrett wound up seventh -- the last car on the lead lap -- and
Labonte chopped 29 points from the lead and now trails Jarrett by 222 with five races remaining.
Mike Skinner led 65 laps, but faded following his final tire
stop and finished third. He was followed by defending race champion
Mark Martin, Ward Burton, Jeremy Mayfield and Jarrett.
Gordon and Skinner spent considerable time late in the race
battling for second place before Gordon finally got by for good on
lap 310 and began to hunt down Labonte.
"It was real awesome at the end, driving in and out of
traffic," Gordon said. "I didn't know if I was going to be able
to get by Bobby because he had the high line. But my car started
working on the bottom."
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Race for the Winston Cup
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 Jeff Gordon talks about battling with Bobby Labonte for the victory.
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Bobby Labonte had no where to go.
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Mike Skinner was not happy about being blocked from his pit.
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Dale Jarrett plays to win.
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