SEPTEMBER BRINGS FORTH NEW CHANCE TO REVITALIZE DUPONT TEAM

    RICHMOND, Va. - Jeff Gordon turned 32 in August. Unfortunately, growing 
older may have been the highlight of a month in which he finished 28th or worse 
in four of five races.
    Gordon enters this Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond 
International Raceway fifth in points, 591 behind leader Matt Kenseth, and 
thinking about what lies ahead.
    "August was a rough month for us and I'm glad it's over, but we've always 
been a team that doesn't dwell on the past," Gordon said. "We just look to 
the races ahead of us and how we can improve.
    "Of course, it's not hard to improve on our results from last month."
    Gordon went through a similar slump in August of 2000. During that 
stretch, he had four finishes outside of the top 20 in four races. However, Gordon 
and the DuPont team rebounded with 10 top-10 finishes – including a win at 
Richmond – over the final 11 races of the 2000 season.
    "It was our first year with crew chief Robbie Loomis and our finishes 
weren't indicative of how well we were running," Gordon said. "The results 
started to show at the end of that year and we carried that momentum into our 
championship year of 2001.
    "That's how I look at this past month. We've led laps and had some good 
runs; we just don't have the good finishes to show for it."
    It's not all been bad. Gordon set the record for most NASCAR Winston Cup 
road course victories during August of 2001 and has captured a record three 
Brickyard 400's during the late-summer month.  With August gone, Gordon must now 
focus on the 11 races remaining in the 2003 season. In 21 starts at Richmond, 
Gordon has two wins, four poles, nine top-five's and 13 top-10's. He has led 
606 laps and has a 6.5 average starting position.
    "I'm really looking forward to Saturday night," Gordon said. "I really 
enjoy racing here and we always seem to be competitive.
    "And it's September."