EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Historic advantage

Lowe's Motor Speedway has been good to Gordon

	• Lugnuts • On the track • In the pits • Stop 'n' Go • Finish Line

From CNNSI.com

If history is any indication, look for Jeff Gordon to expand his points lead this weekend when NASCAR returns to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., for the UAW-GM Quality 500.

In 17 career starts in Concord, Gordon has won four times, the most victories among active drivers. His most recent triumph there was in the 1999 fall race. The current Winston Cup points leader also has been tough on qualifying day. Gordon has seven career poles at Lowe's Motor Speedway, including five in a row from 1994-96.

Conversely, Ricky Rudd, who will take the green flag in Concord for the 51st time Sunday, as yet to win there. His best efforts have been two third-place finishes, most recently in last season's fall race. Even with three times as many opportunities, Rudd does not have as many top-five efforts as Gordon in Concord. Gordon has nine compared to just eight for Rudd.

However, Rudd does have reason to be optimistic. In the Coca-Cola 600 in May, Rudd finished seventh while Gordon finished 29th after a pit-road accident with Kenny Wallace.

Jeff Burton Burton has two victories in 14 career starts in Concord. He won this year's Coca-Cola 600 in May, and he also won Winston Cup racing's longest event in 1999. Burton has 10 top-10 finishes this season. Dale Jarrett The 1999 Winston Cup champion has three wins at Lowe's Motor Speedway and has 13 top-10 finishes in 28 starts. Jarrett sustained a concussion and bruised the left side of his chest after a crash last week at Kansas City. Rusty Wallace Wallace may be a driver to keep a close eye on this week. He has two victories at Lowe's Motor Speedway and he's coming off a fourth-place finish in Kansas Speedway, where he led 115 laps. Mark Martin Martin finished fourth at the Coca-Cola 600 in May, one of only three top-five finishes he's had this season. Martin -- like Wallace -- also is coming off a strong effort; he was sixth last week.

Flattery Rookie Ryan Newman turned quite a few heads when he finished second to Jeff Gordon on Sunday in the inaugural Winston Cup race at Kansas Speedway. It was his second top-five finish in just five starts. Flag Rusty Wallace has no one to blame but himself for not winning last week's race. Wallace was penalized for speeding as he left pit road on lap 231 of a race he had been dominating. Flattery Robert Pressley would probably like to see NASCAR add some more new tracks to its schedule. Pressley was second at Chicagoland in July and he finished seventh at Kansas City. Flag Jason Leffler continued a bad trend Sunday. Of rookies who have started from the pole this year, none have finished higher than 28th. That's where Leffler finished after a crash took him out of the race with nine laps left.

Jeremy Mayfield's brief and sometimes rocky relationship with Penske Racing came to an end Tuesday morning when he was released from his contract. Mayfield has seven top-10 finishes in 28 starts this year. Mike Skinner wasted no time in finding a new job after parting ways with longtime car owner Richard Childress last week. He signed a three-year deal with Morgan-McClure Motorsports on Tuesday. Defending Busch series champ Jeff Green moved into second place in this year's race for the championship after his victory last week in Kansas. Green trails leader Kevin Harvick by 187 points. Truck series points leader Jack Sprague got some distance between himself and his chasers after Ted Musgrave won Friday night in South Boston, Va. Sprague leads Joe Ruttman by 37 points with four races left.

Silverado 350 -- 9 p.m. Friday (ESPN2, 1 a.m. Saturday, tape): 219 miles, 146 laps. 2000 pole winner: Bryan Reffner. 2000 race winner: Bryan Reffner. Little Trees 300 -- 1 p.m. Saturday (TNT): 300 miles, 200 laps. 2000 pole winner: Matt Kenseth. 2000 race winner: Matt Kenseth. UAW-GM Quality 500 -- 1 p.m. Sunday (NBC): 501 miles, 334 laps. 2000 pole winner: Jeff Gordon. 2000 race winner: Bobby Labonte.

Bravo to NASCAR for not fining Rusty Wallace or Ricky Rudd for their recent actions. The on-track rivalries are loved by fans and announcers, and make the races much more interesting. How they explained to Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick why there were no fines for Wallace and Rudd would also be very interesting. -- Patrick, London, Ontario, Canada. Are Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart aggressive? Sure -- but you can't consistently win unless you're aggressive. -- Jim, Minneapolis, Texas. Why does NASCAR bother with fines and probation? Neither of those mean much to the drivers. If you want to get their attention, take away points, or for serious matters, make them sit out a race. -- Shawn, Columbia, Mo. Who had the big idea of classifying Winston Cup drivers as "athletes"? The term "athlete" implies some level of physical fitness, such as that of an Olympic athlete. There aren't a whole lot of "athletes" other than NASCAR drivers who start their day with a slab of bacon and a side of grits. -- Katie, Safety Harbor, Fla. New NASCAR fans don't understand that hard-nosed racing is NASCAR. They shouldn't complain about the drivers getting excited. That's what makes the sport so great. -- Jeff, Philadelphia, Pa. Retaliation seems worse this year than others. Drivers should learn there looked up to by little ones. Don't act like the ones that look up to you. -- Andrew, Calif.

Got something to say? Tell us.

Your name: Your e-mail address: Your hometown: Comment or question -- or whatever: (in 25 words or less)

Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.