Gordon 2nd Quarter DOTY: And if taking over the NASCAR Winston Cup points lead with three wins, three seconds and a third in nine races is not proof enough, Jeff Gordon capped that with victory in his now familiar competition – the American Driver of the Year second-quarter vote. Gordon, winner of the most prestigious award in motorsports in 1995, 1997 and 1998, defeated Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 112 points to 99 in balloting by a blue-ribbon panel of 14 national motorsports journalists and fans on ESPN.com. Driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, the 29-year old Gordon racked up eight first-place votes, while Castroneves finished with five first-place nods. The remaining two first-place votes went to Winston Cup competitor Tony Stewart, who ran the Indianapolis 500 and then, that night finished third in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; and Championship Auto Racing Team’s Kenny Brack.(DOTY PR/That’s Racin’)(7-4-2001) (7-3-2001)
