Jeff Gordon Wins Sprint Cup Qualifier and Joins Mark Martin as Purolator Top Starter for Daytona 500
Daytona Beach, FL, February 12-15, 2009 — Jeff Gordon won a Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race here Thursday at Daytona International Speedway and started in the second row for the NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500, stock car racing's biggest race. Gordon, a three-time Daytona 500 winner and four-time Sprint Cup champion, drove his familiar #24 DuPont Chevrolet to victory running on Purolator filters for Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon started the Daytona 500 behind veteran Mark Martin, who took the green flag from his front row starting position. Martin was also driving a Purolator-equipped Chevy from Hendrick Motorsports.
Tony Stewart Wins Nationwide Series Daytona Opener on Purolator
Daytona Beach, FL, February 14, 2009 — Tony Stewart stepped out of his roll as a Sprint Cup car owner/driver here Saturday to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opening Camping World 300 race driving a Purolator-equipped Chevrolet entered by Hendrick Motorsports. The veteran Stewart held off the field to win the race by 0.68 of a second while averaging over 138 mph for the two-hour event. The Hendrick Chevy was outfitted with a Purolator oil and air filter.