* Jeff Gordon won the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, scoring his 72nd NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory in his 410th career start. His last victory came at Martinsville, three races ago.
* This was Gordon’s 10th career restrictor-plate victory in 50 career restrictor-plate races. Gordon scored 28 top-10 finishes in those 50 races.
* It marked Gordon’s fourth victory in 25 races at Talladega. Gordon also won this race one year ago.
* Gordon has scored three victories in 2005, more than any other driver. He also posted victories at Daytona and Martinsville.* Gordon has climbed from 12th to third in the NASCAR NEXTEL CUP point standings in the last four races.
* Gordon has scored four top-10 finishes in nine races this season.
* Gordon scored the sixth victory for car owner Rick Hendrick at Talladega. This was Hendrick’s 134th victory as a car owner and fourth in nine races this season.
* This was the fifth victory in 2005 for Chevrolet. Ford has four victories while Dodge still seeks their first of the season.
Notebook Items
* Tony Stewart (second) posted his eighth top-10 finish in 13 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It was his fourth runner-up finish at Talladega. Stewart has scored four top-10 finishes in nine races this season. He climbed from 14th to sixth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings.
* Michael Waltrip (third) posted his 13th top-10 finish in 39 races at Talladega Superspeedway. He scored his fourth top-10 finish and third straight in 2005.
* Jeremy Mayfield (fourth) scored his second top-10 finish in 22 races at Talladega Superspeedway. This was his career-best Talladega finish. This marked Mayfield’s first top-10 finish in 2005. He climbed from 16th to 12th in the point standings, his highest ranking of the season.
* Jamie McMurray (fifth) scored his second top-10 finish in six races at Talladega Superspeedway. It was his career-best Talladega finish.
* Ken Schrader (eighth) scored his 12th top-10 finish in 41 races at Talladega Superspeedway. Schrader scored his first top-10 finish since Bristol in March 2004.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15th) has climbed from 27th to ninth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings in the last six races.
* Travis Kvapil (18th) was the highest finishing Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year contender for the fourth time in 2005.
* Jimmie Johnson (20th) posted his first DNF since Kansas City in October 2005. He remained first in the point standings with a 130-point lead over second-place Kurt Busch.
* Mark Martin (33rd) has been running at the finish in 31 consecutive races , the longest current streak.
* Seven of the top-10 positions in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings changed Talladega Superspeedway.
* Jeff Gordon led 139 of the 188 laps, the first time that he has led the most laps in a race this season.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(5-1-2005)
