Gordon's Daytona win

Gordon, driving a Pepsi-sponsored car in a Pepsi-sponsored race, ahead of a major Pepsi product launch, also won the weekend's cola wars. Rival Coca-Cola, also launching a new product, had nine branded entries in the field in a direct challenge to the Pepsi brand. The best of the lot at the end were Kurt Busch (fourth) and Tony Stewart (fifth).

The victory thus was complete for Gordon, who profited from integrated teamwork among the Hendrick gang, particularly through the green-flag stops around Lap 110. The four Hendrick cars pitted together on Lap 108 for tyres and fuel and left together maintaining their draft. The DEI cars of Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (leading at the time), pitted four laps later and did not do nearly as well, returning to the track in 13th and 14th place.

The DEI cars, winners of 10 of the prior 14 restricted races (including Junior's win in February's Daytona 500), remain probably the most potent at the plate tracks and did not have a problem making up the lost ground - at least until the end, with Gordon leading and Johnson watching his flank. Junior raced back up to third place, but the equation was complicated by the presence of Ford driver Kurt Busch, in fourth and on Earnhardt's bumper.

Earnhardt said his car got tight at the end. With no real help from Busch, and with Johnson on guard for Gordon, and with customary partner Waltrip fading, Earnhardt could not line up for a shot at the leader over the final few laps. Gordon won without a challenge, although Johnson, realising the stakes, made a show of trying to shake up Jeff on the home stretch.

Gordon won from the pole for the second week in a row, continuing his streaky history over the past couple of years. He won from P1 last week at Sonoma in a dominating performance, and he showed off Hendrick's developing class on the big tracks Saturday night.

It can't be said yet that the Hendrick teams have overtaken the DEI group, as the DEI cars led half the laps in the race and seemed to be able to go at will. Junior showed that it's as much driver as team with an astonishing three-wide move, outside to inside, past Gordon and Busch, to go from fourth to second on Lap 149.

Tony Stewart had taken the lead with a two-tyre stop under the final caution on Lap 139. Just about everyone else had taken four tyres, so Stewart, though game, did not have a real chance.

Johnson did a splendid job in rallying from seventh to contender, taking advantage of Earnhardt's move to team-up with Gordon. The two drafted by Earnhardt on Lap 150, with Roush team-mates Busch and Mark Martin following, then drafted together by Stewart on Lap 154.

Suspense mounted as the laps counted down. Earnhardt first linked up with Stewart for a shot at Johnson, but Johnson, following Gordon's draft, got away. Stewart, his car fading on the older tyres, fell back, leaving Earnhardt and Busch to contend for third.