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Jeff Gordon still enjoys taste of victory

 
Jeff Gordon has never won a Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in four tries.
Jeff Gordon has never won a Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in four tries.
Published July 11, 2015

SPARTA, Ky. — Kentucky Speedway gave Jeff Gordon a parting gift that would make a native of the commonwealth jealous — 24 bottles of its trademark bourbon from each of four master distilleries.

That's fine, but he would settle for drinking champagne in Victory Lane.

Though NASCAR's four-time Sprint Cup Series champion hasn't raced enough times on the 1½-mile oval to develop a love/hate relationship for it, he enters tonight's Quaker State 400 with some unfinished business. In a stellar career featuring 92 wins, it's the lone track the 43-year-old hasn't conquered, a void he looks to fill in his final start at the track before retiring at the end of the season.

"It's the only one left on the list, so it would mean a lot to accomplish that," Gordon said Friday in a packed media center. "It wouldn't mean so much to me if I hadn't won so much at all the other ones. It's all been good, we've come close before.

"It's not like if we don't win, I'm going to be super disappointed. I'd be disappointed if we finished second, to come that close."

Granted, Kentucky is the newest track on the Sprint Cup schedule; tonight's race is the fifth the series has held on the 11/2-mile oval. And Gordon's four top-10 finishes here suggests he'll at least be in the discussion as he seeks his first win since September at Dover. He also has an overall pattern of success on intermediate-length tracks.

He'll start third in the No. 24 Chevy after qualifying was rained out; the field was set based on practice times.

Considering the love Gordon has already received as he takes his final lap around the NASCAR circuit, there's no doubt the California native with Indiana racing roots will be the sentimental favorite when the green flag waves.

What Gordon seeks most is an upward trajectory as he drives toward the Chase for the Championship. Despite five top-10s in his past 10 starts including sixth in Monday morning's wild ending at Daytona, he has led just one lap in his past seven races.

And for all of his solid showings at Kentucky, Gordon has yet to lead a lap here, an important step toward breaking through. He had no answer when asked about it, and noted that it's "just been tough" racing at Kentucky.

"I've always ran well toward the end of the race," he said. "Maybe it's a qualifying thing, too. Hopefully, that changes this week."

Xfinity: Brad Keselowski overcame a late-race mistake after a restart to reclaim the lead from Erik Jones with eight laps remaining, holding him off to win the Kentucky 300 in Sparta. Keselowski earned his third series victory at Kentucky Speedway and second 300-mile win in three starts. He had to bounce back from a hiccup after a Lap 169 restart that appeared to hand the race to Jones. Unfazed, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion regrouped and guided his No. 22 Ford past Jones' Toyota on Lap 192 and went on to the win after finishing second last year. Kyle Busch (Toyota) was third after leading a race-high 88 laps, with Daniel Suarez (Toyota) fourth and Elliott Sadler (Ford) fifth.

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NHRA: Antron Brown led the first day of Top Fuel qualifying with a run of 3.729 seconds, a track record, at 323.58 mph at the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also led their classes. Qualifying continues today.