Gordon, Kyle Busch win Gatorade Duels

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After going winless last season for the first time in his career, it didn't take Jeff Gordon long to return to Victory Lane, winning the first 150-mile qualifying heat in the Gatorade Duels at Daytona International Speedway.

"Any win is exciting and meaningful to us right now,'' said Gordon, who will start on the second row for Sunday's Daytona 500. "Right now, after feeling the pressure from being winless last year, it just puts a smile on everyone's face. So, however you can get that, it's important. We just have to keep it going."

In the second 150-mile qualifying heat, Kyle Busch a strong last-lap takeover bid by 50-year-old drivear Mark Martin to solidify a second-row spot (in the fourth starting position) alongside Gordon in the 43-car field.

"The biggest thing is you got to mind your Ps and Qs,'' Busch said. "You have to bring the car home. We have practice [Friday]. We have practice Saturday. We have to make sure our car runs good for Sunday.

"I could have rode the last five laps and pushed Mark Martin to the win. I thought that would be a Cinderella story. You would have something to write about. For us to win today, it was all right. It was good. I'm proud of the effort by [crew chief Steve] Addington and all his boys.''

Gordon, who was greeted in Victory Lane by his 20-month-old daughter, Ella Sofia, thanked the Hendrick Motorsports crew of his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, he thanked one of his associate sponsors, Pepsi, and made a quick plug for one of its in-store promotions.

"Hey, it's been a while since I've been to Victory Lane, so I've got to take advantage of it,'' said Gordon, whose last victory in a NASCAR points-paying race was last October at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Gordon went to the front with two laps to go when he got a huge push from Joey Logano, the 18-year-old rookie driver from Middletown, Conn., and surged past Tony Stewart, the driver Logano replaced in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, for the race lead.

"He did a great job today,'' Gordon said of Logano, who surged from 20th with 11 laps to go in the 60-lap race to second with one lap remaining.. ``He did a really great job of giving us a push that probably helped us win the race.''

Said Logano, "It's a big deal for us and the whole Home Depot team to get out here and finish the race.'' After crashing four laps into the first 25-lap segment of the 75-lap Budweiser Shootout Saturday night, Logano said, "Finishing the race was priority one.''

But when a chance to win it presented itself, Logano took it.

"Once we got up there with only a few to go, I made a last-ditch effort there at the end going into [Turn] 3, hoping someone would go with me,'' said Logano, who got shuffled back in the draft when Stewart passed him for second place. "I figured, I'm that close, might as well go for a win. Overall, I think it was a good day.''

Stewart, as a result, wound up runner-up, Jimmie Johnson was third and Logano fourth.

"It feels fantastic,'' Gordon said. "It doesn't matter if it's a qualifying race or the Daytona 500. Any confidence-builder we can get is only going to be a positive.''