CONCORD, N.C. — Jeff Gordon found himself thinking about his back instead of his car. After hours of agony behind the wheel at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, Gordon wondered how much longer he could fight the pain.
"If my back was the way it was at Bristol this year, it's definitely going to shorten my career," Gordon said Thursday. "I can't race like that."
The Sprint Cup points leader began a series of tests, which revealed minor arthritis and other issues. That led to a procedure on Monday that called for an injection of lidocaine or anti-inflammatory medication.
So far, so good as Gordon prepares for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, a 400-lap, marathon night of endurance behind the wheel in NASCAR's longest race.
"I feel pretty good. They said it's going to take six or seven days for it to have its full impact," Gordon said. "Today in the car, yesterday in the go-kart event, I was feeling pretty good. I'm pretty happy so far with the results. Hopefully we can resolve what's going on."
The 37-year-old Gordon acknowledged he may have taken too long to address the issue. He drove in pain throughout a winless 2008, his first season without a victory since he was a rookie 16 years ago.
Stopping the pain was an offseason priority that led Gordon to start a new fitness program.
"I'm in the best shape I can ever remember being in. But all of the things I had been doing, the stretches, the fitness workouts, none of those things were making my back any better," Gordon said. "We tried things in the seat, lumbar supports and all those things."
Gordon said an MRI showed the arthritis and long-term back issues possibly related to trauma from a past crash.
The pain increases when Gordon is on a short track like Bristol or road course when there is extra and he has to brake often. It's not as bad when Gordon is at longer tracks like the 1.5-mile Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he spent last week and races on Sunday. But Gordon said now was the time to get treatment.
"The other night, even though it was 100 laps, I really wasn't in too bad of shape," Gordon said of Saturday's All-Star race. "It's going to a place like Bristol, it's the road courses. Those types of places are the ones that affect me the most.
"That's why I did the treatment because I was, "Well, I'll be OK this weekend, but in two weeks we'll go to Richmond and I'll have to fight it there.'"
NEWMAN WINS POLE: Ryan Newman turned a lap at 188.475 mph Thursday night to grab the top starting spot for the Coca-Cola 600.
It was Newman's eighth career pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway — the most of any active driver — and the Stewart-Haas Racing driver's 44th overall.
Kyle Busch will start second Sunday in NASCAR's longest race after a lap of 188.258. Points leader Jeff Gordon qualified third, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson.
Bill Elliott needed to qualify on speed and earned the 10th spot for his 800th career start.
J.J. Yeley, filling in for suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield, failed to qualify for the race.
MAYFIELD MEETS WITH NASCAR: The attorney for Jeremy Mayfield hinted Thursday he'll take legal action to have Mayfield's NASCAR suspension lifted.
Mayfield and attorney Bill Diehl met for more than an hour with NASCAR officials. Although Diehl said the meeting was cordial, it did not get them any closer to resolving the issue. Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test.
LONG RETURNS TO TRACK: Carl Long's best Cup Series finish came at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2001 and he got married at the track's luxurious Speedway Club two years later.
"This place has been pretty good to me," Long said Thursday. "I sure hope my career doesn't end here."
It could.
Long was suspended 12 races, docked 200 points and essentially fined $200,000 for having an illegal engine at Lowe's last weekend. All were record penalties for the sport.
Long appealed the punishment Thursday, hoping the National Stock Car Racing Commission will reduce the figures at a June 2 hearing. NASCAR, meanwhile, deferred Long's suspension until the hearing, allowing him to return to his full-time job as a crew member for the No. 34 Chevrolet.