Anderson "Litte 500" race notes

Record 6th "Little 500" for Eric Gordon
Ties Bob Frey's Record of 4-In-A-Row!

Eric Gordon of Indianapolis, Ind. became the first six-time winner of one of America's greatest short-track races Saturday night, winning the 56th Annual PayLess/Delco Remy "Little 500" Sprint Car classic at the Anderson (Ind.) Speedway. His fourth consecutive win in the 500-lap race surpassed Bob Frey's five total race wins and tied Frey's mark of four straight wins.

Gordon started fifth in the 33-car field on the 1/4-mile paved oval and led nearly half of the race in his Jack French PayLess/Print Express Gor-Fre/Gaerte but had to withstand a late-race challenge from runner-up finisher Aaron Pierce of Daleville, Ind., who finished just .35 seconds in arrears.

Gordon trailed early leaders Levi Jones and Dave Steele until Steele pitted on lap 166. Twenty-two laps later Gordon made the first of his two pit stops, relinquishing the lead to Brian Tyler. On lap 281 he caught leaders Michael Lewis and Tony Hunt in traffic and despite pitting for the final time on lap 384, he was never again headed!

Gordon held nearly a lap lead until the final 75 laps when Pierce began slicing into it. At the checkered flag Pierce was within two car lengths!

Tony Hunt finished third after losing time due to congestion on his final pit stop. It marked the third consecutive "top-three" finish for last year's runner-up.

Paul White of Temple, Texas earned the "Rookie of the Race" award for finishing eighth. He was one of six race leaders, pacing laps 191-262 after making a quick first pit stop.

Jason McCord and Gary Fedewa rounded out the "top-five" and were trailed by Lewis, Chris Hayes, White, Dude Teate and Denny England.

Pole starter Dave Steele was among the leaders in the early laps, but allowed Levi Jones to pace the first 152 circuits. A pit incident on his first stop relegated Steele to "lapped" status and he never recovered, eventually failing to finish the race.

Former race winner Chet Fillip escaped injury in a hard crash into the third-turn wall on lap 111 and front-row starter Cory Kruseman failed to finish after running second late in the race. Kruseman's teammate Jay Drake was also a casualty, ending up in the first-turn wall after a frontstretch tangle with another car.

Race leaders included Gordon, Steele, White, Tyler, Lewis and Jones.

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