Darlington, S.C. ? The smile on Jeff Gordon’s face stretched from ear-to-ear as he drove to Victory Lane for the second straight week.

Gordon is officially back, proving it Sunday by winning the Southern 500 for a record-tying fifth time. After going winless for 31 straight races, Gordon has won two in a row and showed he’s a serious contender for the Winston Cup title.

“This, to me, legitimizes our threat for the championship and I think it legitimizes us in the garage area with the other competitors,” Gordon said.

Gordon beat Ryan Newman to the finish line at Darlington Raceway by more than the length of a football field for his 60th career victory, sixth at NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, and fifth in the Southern 500 tying Cale Yarborough for wins in the prestigious race.

Bill Elliott finished third in a Dodge, Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin was fourth in a Dodge, and Dale Jarrett brought his Ford across the line in fifth.

Defending race winner Ward Burton finished sixth and was followed by Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, rookie Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton.

With his victory, Gordon moved into second place in the standings, 91 points behind Marlin.

“Last year we got a fire in our eye when we were going for the championship and we lost a little bit of it,” Gordon said. “But we kept the faith and belief in one another and now we’ve got the fire back.”

Schumacher sets win mark

Spa-Francochamps, Belgium Five-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher set a record for most victories in one season Sunday with a win in the Belgian Grand Prix. Schumacher won his 10th race, roaring out from the pole position to complete the 44-lap race on the scenic 4.327-mile track in one hour, 21 minutes, 20.634 seconds. Brazil’s Rubens Barrichello finished second, two seconds back.

Capps claims Shootout

Clermont, Ind. Ron Capps raced to his third Budweiser Shootout victory Sunday in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Capps earned $100,000 in the Funny Car bonus event, beating Dean Skuza with a quarter-mile run of 4.971 seconds at 293.47 mph in a Chevy Camaro. Skuza’s Dodge finished in 5.061 at 282.19.

Junqueira takes GP title

Denver Bruno Junqueira, hoping he still has time to get back into the CART championship chase, won the Shell Grand Prix of Denver. Junqueira had to hold off a late charge by Target/Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon. Junqueira’s Toyota-powered Lola crossed the finish line 0.282 seconds ahead. Junqueira’s is second in the standings, 52 points behind Brazilian countryman Cristiano da Matta.

Six teams pick CART

Denver Six teams pledged Sunday to return to CART in 2003, giving the embattled Champ car series a much-needed boost. Team owners of Newman/Haas Racing, Fernandez Racing, Patrick Racing, Players/Forsythe Racing and Walker Racing and the CEO of Team Rahal announced their commitments.