Gordon on verge of fourth title

Gordon entered Monday's Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway with a 237-point lead over Ricky Rudd. But after Gordon finished ninth and Rudd 39th, after suffering a blown engine, Jeff's lead has increased to 334 points with six races remaining. However, he isn't ready to celebrate just yet.

"That scares me because it can turn around any time," said Gordon. "This team is doing a phenomenal job right now making sure we get to the end of the race. It's so important not to make any mistakes right now. We made a few and we weren't able to capitalise on our car. We were but we weren't. I thought we had a better car than ninth, but we weren't able to capitalise on it and get it better there at the end.

"We'll go to Talladega and try to survive there, and go to the next race and try to survive there. Right now, that's what it's all about if we're going to win this championship."

Tony Stewart, who entered the race third in the standings, finished 41st after the engine in his Pontiac blew up after 123 laps. Stewart drops from third to fifth in the Winston Cup standings. Sterling Marlin is now third, followed by Dale Jarrett.

Gordon admitted he changed his approach to the race when his two nearest competitors encountered problems.

"It probably changed a little bit," Gordon said. "I was getting a little frustrated because the car just didn't seem to be as good as I wanted it to be. I saw how good Rudd and Jarrett both were - they were real strong. But if you don't get to the end, you don't get the points."