#24-Jeff Gordon won the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, in a fuel mileage race. #48-Jimmie Johnson ended up 2nd. #18-Bobby Labonte was running 2nd and ran out of gas with a 1/2 lap to go. #24-Jeff Gordon made it back-to-back Nextel Cup victories Sunday, parlaying fast pit stops and a strong car into a win in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. #18-Bobby Labonte had moved up to second in the late stages of the race and had closed to within a second of Gordon with two laps to go. On the final lap, however, Labonte ran out of fuel and sputtered home in fifth. Gordon, meanwhile, had just enough gas to complete a victory lap and a celebratory pass through the infield grass. His crew pushed the #24 to victory lane. #48-Jimmie Johnson made it to the end and grabbed second on the final lap. That, combined with a lackluster 19th-place run by #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., moved Johnson to within 25 points of the lead in the Nextel Cup standings. Gordon remains third in the standings. #12-Ryan Newman and #17-Matt Kenseth also passed Labonte on the final lap. #9-Kasey Kahne, #19-Jeremy Mayfield and #0-Ward Burton were among the others that ran out in the waning moments of the 500-mile event.(full story at ThatsRacin.com) For more on some detail of the race, see my Jayski’s Race Rundown page. For Results see Jayski’s California Race Results/Awards Standings Page ThatsRacin.com MotorsportsOne NASCAR.com.(5-2-2004)
