NEWS & NOTES
AT MICHIGAN: In 34 Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway, Gordon has posted two wins, 17 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s. He also has earned five pole positions, owns an average starting spot of 9.5 and has led 900 laps at the two-mile oval. His average finish is 11.2.
MOST RECENTLY AT MICHIGAN: Gordon left Michigan last year with two runner-up finishes. Last August, he started 21st and finished second after spending 91 percent of the race running in the top 15 (182 laps total). In this race last year, Gordon drove the National Guard paint scheme to a runner-up finish. Overall, Gordon has more runner-up finishes (eight) at Michigan than any other track.
SEASON LEADER: Through the first 14 Cup events this season, Gordon leads all active, full-time drivers in laps in the top 15 (4,038 laps) and in miles led (866.29 miles). He ranks second in laps led (712), average running position (9.069) and fastest laps run (369). Gordon owns the third-best driver rating with a score of 105.2.
LOOP DATA AT MICHIGAN: According to NASCAR’s loop data, which is compiled during the last 10 races at Michigan, Gordon ranks fifth in fastest laps run (106), seventh in average running position (12.569), seventh in driver rating (96.3), seventh in fastest drivers early in a run (176.000 mph), seventh in green flag speed (173.076 mph), seventh in laps led (106), eighth in laps in top 15 (1,336) and ninth in fastest drivers late in a run (171.049 mph).
DRIVER STANDINGS: Gordon is ranked seventh in the Sprint Cup driver standings going into Sunday’s event at Michigan. After 14 races this season, he has scored five top-five finishes, six top-10s and led 712 laps.
MICHIGAN CHASSIS: Crew chief Steve Letarte has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-557 for Sunday’s race at Michigan. Gordon has raced this car three times this year, picking up a 20th-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in February, a 14th-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March and an 11th-place finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May.
ALL-TIMER: Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Job Skills Chevrolet, ranks sixth on the all-time career Cup wins list with 82 and fourth in all-time career Cup poles with 68. The NASCAR veteran is only one victory and one pole away from tying Cale Yarborough, who ranks fifth and third, respectively.
HENDRICK AT MICHIGAN: In 52 events (162 starts) at Michigan, Hendrick Motorsports has scored five wins, 37 top-five finishes, 68 top-10s and has led 1,876 laps. During both 2009 events, two Hendrick drivers earned finishes of third or better. Mark Martin and Gordon finished one-two in the June event, while Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. locked up second and third, respectively, in the August race.
NATIONAL GUARD AND THE NO. 24 TEAM: For the second year in a row, Gordon and the No. 24 team are sponsored by the National Guard for eight Sprint Cup Series events. The first three National Guard-sponsored races were at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, Texas Motor Speedway in April and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May. In addition to this weekend at Michigan, Gordon will partner with the National Guard at four other venues: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on Sept. 11, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 19, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 24, and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 31.
Quotes
JEFF GORDON, DRIVER, NO. 24 DUPONT/NATIONAL GUARD JOB SKILLS CHEVROLET (ON HAVING THE NATIONAL GUARD ON THE HOOD AT MICHIGAN. ): “The National Guard offers over 150 different careers, and we’re recognizing these opportunities on the No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Chevy at Michigan. Back in April, I had the privilege of training with Special Forces Soldiers, and that so happens to be one of the career options for National Guard Soldiers who want to succeed in their military career. I’m here this weekend to help spread the word about these job opportunities for those interested in joining the National Guard.”
STEVE LETARTE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 DUPONT/NATIONAL GUARD JOB SKILLS CHEVROLET (ON MICHIGAN BEING A FUEL MILEAGE RACE.): “What makes Michigan such a unique track is it’s in that two-mile category like California, but Michigan is very multi-groove racing. When you have a driver like Jeff (Gordon), it’s a crew chiefs dream because he can really help the balance of the car. It (Michigan) runs a lot of green-flag racing, which lends to a lot of fuel mileage racing. Both races last year were fuel mileage races and we had two seconds. We are normally on the better end of the fuel mileage, which helps. It was going to help us last weekend at Pocono, it just didn’t turn out that way. Michigan has always been a good track for us, which is good because we haven’t performed in the last month like we need to perform. We are hoping to go to Michigan and maybe turn things around a little bit.”
LETARTE (ON THE EFFECT THE SPOILER WILL HAVE AT MICHIGAN.): “I think the spoiler will definitely have an impact at Michigan. I don’t think it will have a huge impact on the cars handle but it will have an impact on how the cars race. It increases the drag so much that I think you are going to see a lot more drafting on the straightaways. If you make a mistake in a corner or you attempt to pass somebody and it doesn’t work out you are going to lose a lot. When you lose your momentum you’re going to lose a lot of time on the track, so we are definitely going to have to pay attention to that for sure.”
| 
|