HOMESTEAD, Fla., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Another NASCAR Nextel Cup Series battle rages on between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who are deadlocked for the lead in this year's Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap championship. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050204/GTLOGO ) The contest's weekly award, sponsored by Goodyear Engineered Products and named after Goodyear Gatorback Poly-V automotive belts, goes to the driver posting the fastest lap while leading a Cup race. At the end of the season, the driver compiling the most weekly awards is declared the overall champion and receives a coveted solid crystal trophy and a check for $75,000. Going into the final race here on Sunday, Johnson and Gordon have captured five weekly awards each. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has collected four fastest laps and the chance to create a three-way tie at the end of the season if he turns in the fastest lap on Sunday. A draw would require NASCAR to look at overall standings to declare the ultimate winner. The award is a tribute to teamwork, according to Dave Wenger, marketing manager for Veyance Technologies which is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of Goodyear automotive belts, tensioners, hose and air springs. "The crew has to properly tune the engine and setup the car, while their driver has to attack the track," he said. Johnson wasted no time in the 36-event season to record consecutive fastest laps while ahead of the field at Las Vegas and Atlanta, the third and fourth races of the season respectively. Three events later, Gordon answered by ripping off four consecutive winning laps at Texas, Phoenix, Talladega and Richmond. Johnson added one at Michigan; Gordon responded for his fifth at Richmond. Johnson won his fourth at Charlotte and tied the count at five at the Martinsville race on October 21. Six of their fastest times while in the lead were logged during the first ten laps of races. Gordon grabbed the quickest lap of the season at Talladega with 199.371 miles per hour. The two drivers combined to take checkered flags five of the 10 times that they earned the Fastest Lap award and finished in the races' Top Ten nine times. "Make no mistake, these teammates are fierce competitors," said Wenger, "and they'll challenge each other to the end in every facet of racing." Wenger said he's delighted that both drivers use Gatorback belts. "The belts are put to the test weekly which supports our track-to-street, high- performance development program. Race data helps to improve Gatorback products and strengthen the company's competitive advantage in the automotive aftermarket." Goodyear automotive belts have been used by NASCAR teams for 25 years. Gatorback Poly-V belts were introduced to NASCAR events in 2002 by Johnson and his team when he captured the Daytona 500 pole as a rookie. Today, every Nextel Cup car team chooses Gatorback belts which have the same straight-off- the-shelf belt construction found at auto parts stores and service centers nationwide. Hendrick Motorsports also opened the 2007 season using a new Gatorback timing belt with carbon fiber reinforcement to help increase engine horsepower and handle 50-percent increased belt demand. The race-proven carbon fiber technology has now found its way into Goodyear Gatorback Sport ATV drive belts. For more information, visit http://www.goodyearep.com/. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050204/GTLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company CONTACT: Skip Scherer of The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, +1-330-664-7016 Web site: http://www.goodyearep.com/ http://www.goodyear.com/

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