Ray Evernham doesn't ask for miracles from Jeff Gordon. He expects them.
Gazing happily at Gordon following Sunday's victory in the CMT 300 on the treacherous New Hampshire International Speedway oval, the Hendrick Motorsports crew chief said, "I know my little buddy here has got a ton of talent and we can lean on that sometimes."That's what he did late in the 300-lap race when Evernham sent Gordon back onto the track after his final pit stop with enough gas to finish and the same tires he rode in with.
The 26-year-old driver managed to hold off Ernie Irvan the rest of the way to earn his 10th victory of the season and the 29th of his Winston Cup career.
"There's a lot of magic between him and me," Gordon said, smiling back at Evernham, who has been his mentor since his days in the Busch Grand National series.
All of the leaders made their final pit stops on lap 228, during one of the eight caution periods in the race.
Irvan, who had been leading before Hut Stricklin hit the wall in turn two, took on right-side tires and came out fifth. Gordon, running second before the caution, drove back onto the track with a lead he never relinquished.
Gordon needs three victories in the last seven races to match Richard Petty's modern NASCAR record of 13 in a season.
Land speed racing
RENO, Nev. - Financial angels have given cash-strapped Craig Breedlove new hope in his bid for a sixth world speed record while an in-car computer glitch has temporarily sidelined Briton Richard Noble.
Breedlove, who temporarily withdrew from the duel in the desert Friday, returned with $50,000 from Shell Oil and an equal amount from AutoZone.
Spokeswoman Cherie Danson said the team was at least $200,000 in the hole and probably would need $300,000 to break even.
Breedlove, 60, opened the duel with Noble's team on Sept. 6 with a 227 mph run down the 15-mile course in the Black Rock Desert. He found trouble two days later when a 328 mph run sucked an object into his car's jet engine.
Breedlove's car was expected to be back on the desert 125 miles north of Reno by Tuesday for another one-on-one test against Noble's Thrust SSC.
Noble's car, driven by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green, hit 624 mph Friday, just shy of Noble's record of 633.47 mph.