NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SAVE MART 350
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
JUNE 23, 2013
 
JEFF GORDON LEADS THE BOWTIE BRIGADE AT SONOMA
Five Team Chevy Drivers in the Top-10
 
SONOMA, Calif. (June 23, 2013) – Piloting the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet SS, Jeff Gordon led Team Chevy in the Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup race on the tricky 10-turn road course at Sonoma Raceway with a runner-up finish.  Gordon overcame an early and untimely pit road penalty for pitting just as the caution flag waved, which left him mired in traffic for much for of the 110-lap race.  But solid pit strategy and a fast race car propelled him to the front of the field with just a few laps remaining.
 
Gordon, who owns five wins at Sonoma, and who also holds the record for the most all-time road course wins (9) in the Series, captured his fifth top-five finish this season.  He gained three positions in the point standings, and is now ranked 13th overall. 
 
Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet SS, also overcame pit road misfortune and rebounded to a top-five finish.  Busch received two back-to-back pit road speeding penalties, placing him one lap down to the leaders a third of the way through the race.  The team persevered to earn a fourth-place finish.  This is his sixth top-five finish in 13 starts at Sonoma.
 
Gaining valuable driver points, Kasey Kahne in his No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, earned a sixth-place finish; which moved him up to 11th in the standings.  Series point leader Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS, avoided mayhem to finish ninth, and now has a 25-point lead overall.  Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet SS, continued his streak of Top-10 finishes for the six consecutive week by earning a 10th-place finish.
 
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS finished 12th followed by Paul Menard, No. 27 Menards/MOEN Chevrolet SS in 14th and Ryan Newman driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS finished 15th overall. 
 
Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) was the race winner, Carl Edwards (Ford) was third, and Clint Bowyer (Toyota) was fifth to round out the top-five finishing order.