Jeff Gordon planning for 600th start

He was not king that day – more of an afterthought. But #24-Jeff Gordon has impressed since his NASCAR Sprint Cup career began 599 consecutive starts ago. In the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway in November of 1992, "The King" Richard Petty drove his last competitive laps in NASCAR's premier division. That day also was highlighted by a close championship battle between Bill Elliott, Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison. Although Elliott won the battle (the race), Kulwicki won the war (the championship) by a scant 10 points. Gordon's run that day was cut short after contact with the wall, and he is credited with a 31st-place finish – one position better than (current teammate) Mark Martin. Despite a rough beginning, Gordon's career has been one to remember heading into his 600th start. He is sixth on the all-time win list with 82 victories and fourth in all- time poles with 68. Gordon has collected 272 top-fives and 371 top-10's. To put that in perspective, the driver of the #24 DuPont Chevy has 68 more top-fives than Kyle Busch has starts (272 – 204) and 62 more top-10's than Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson has starts (371 – 309). Performance PR