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Gordon Wins, Stewart Second To Take Lead In Chase Standings
The date was Oct. 23, 2005.
Jeff Gordon recorded three wins in the first nine races of the 2005 season. The next trip to victory lane came 23 races later when the series returned to Martinsville Speedway for the 32nd of 36 races on the 2005 schedule.
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NOTE: TUMS is the sponsor of the TUMS Fast Relief 500, the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Martinsville Speedway on October 28.
Gordon led the final 141 laps of the 500-lap event in the No. 24 Chevrolet, overtaking Tony Stewart who led a race-high 283 laps. He held off a final challenge from Stewart on a restart with three laps remaining following the 19th caution of the race.
Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson for second with 10 laps remaining to set up the opportunity to take one final run at Gordon.
Stewart and Johnson came into the event tied for the lead in the point standings but with the Martinsville finish and bonus points, Stewart moved out to a 15-point advantage over Johnson with four races remaining.
Gordon, who did not make the 10-driver Chase field, was relieved to have been able to hold off all challengers. "I knew Tony was going to be tough and that he'd come after us,” said Gordon. “I got a good restart, but he could just drive in a little bit deeper into the corner. When I got on the gas, I could really drive away. I was just thankful we didn't use up my rear bumper, because he was awful close a couple of times."
Several of the Chase contenders suffered problems. Carl Edwards, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin were all but eliminated from the championship hunt as were Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Jeremy Mayfield.
Gordon said he thought of allowing Johnson to take the lead at one point to collect the five bonus points. It wouldn’t have made a difference in the final standings as Stewart won the season title by 35 over Greg Biffle. Johnson finished fifth, 22 points out of fourth.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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