Jeff Gordon Chevy Wins Daytona 500

Jeff Gordon takes his third Daytona 500 victory

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. February 20, 2005: Chevrolet won the 47th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet Monte Carlo, won the legendary event, taking the checkered flag after a dramatic two-lap shootout at the finish. The win represents Chevrolet's fourth victory during this year's Speedweeks after sweeping both Gatorade 150 races on Thursday and the Busch Series event on Saturday. 

 

"This is a great start to the season for Chevrolet as we attempt to defend the manufacturers' title in 2005," said Alba Colon, program manager for Chevrolet's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup program. "It was a great drive by Jeff Gordon to capture his third Daytona 500 win and we're happy to see all of our teams do well today, particularly the #10 team. There were a few unfortunate incidents along the way but overall, we had five out of the top 10 cars. This is a day we have been working toward for months."

 

Chevrolet Monte Carlo race cars led more laps of the Daytona 500 than any other; Tony Stewart led over half the race in his #20 Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo, but after a string of caution periods near the end of the race, Gordon made his move to the front and took his 70th career NEXTEL Cup victory. The Chevrolet driver has now won six races at Daytona, including the last two and is proving to be a master of restrictor plate racing after taking three of the last four at the two superspeedway tracks on NASCAR's schedule.

 

"I knew all week that the team had done an amazing job on the car," said Gordon. "I know how much effort the guys on this team have put in every single year to try to win this thing. Sometimes you get the results and sometimes you don't. But when you've got a car like I had this week, you certainly want to take advantage of it. You know, it was just a fantastic day and a fantastic car."

 

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup competition returns next weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. 

 

Provisional Results (Top 10)

 

Pos.     Started                        No.       Car                                          Driver

1          15                    24        DuPont Chevrolet                Gordon

2          13                    97        Sharpie Ford                           Busch

3          5                      8          Budweiser Chevrolet          Earnhardt, Jr.

4          12                    10        Valvoline Chevrolet             Riggs

5          2                      48        Lowe's Chevrolet                 Johnson

6          32                    6          Viagra Ford                             Martin

7          4                      20        Home Depot Chevrolet       Stewart

8          18                    40        Coors Light Dodge                  Marlin

9          8                      37        Patron Dodge                          Lepage

10        36                    2          Miller Lite Dodge                     Wallace

 

General Motors Corp. , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, employs about 325,000 people globally. Founded in 1908, GM has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 192 countries. In 2003, GM sold nearly 8.6 million cars and trucks, about 15 percent of the global vehicle market. GM's global headquarters is at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM and its products can be found on the company's consumer website at www.gm.com.