In an official release Monday evening, NASCAR points leader, Jeff Gordon, announced he had a medical procedure to attempt to alleviate some or all of his chronic back pain. "I had a facet block procedure done on my back on Monday and it went well," Gordon said. A facet block is when a local anesthetic or corticosteroid is injected into a facet joint, which is one of the points where one vertebrae connects to another."I was a little sore after the procedure, but I'll definitely take that brief bit of soreness if it stops the recurring back pain I've had." Suffering quietly to himself all last year, Gordon revealed at the start of this season that he was having back issues.

Gordon, the driver of the no. 24 DuPont Chevrolet went win-less in the 2008 season for the first time in 15 years, since his rookie year of 1993. With just 29 points separating him from second place driver, Kyle Busch, Gordon decided last month it was time to track down the cause of his pain. An MRI revealed a touch of arthritis and other issues he described as possibly related to "trauma, from a crash, or maybe just from years of beating it up." 

Some may ask, if he knew the results a month ago, why wait until now for the procedure? The answer, he was timing it with the Coca Cola 600. "This is a grueling race -- 600 miles here is tough," said Gordon, who leads the point standings by 29. "It's tough on equipment, and it's tough mentally. You have to mentally stay in the game and be focused for 600 miles."I'm really looking forward to the event. Obviously, I want to see how my back does, but I also think we can challenge for the win." 

Gordon may get a good idea of just how well the block worked tonight, when he participates in "Ultimate Speed", a karting event that will raise money for the Jeff Gordon Foundation and the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital in Concord. "That event is always a lot of fun, and it shouldn't be a strain on my back," said Gordon. "Even running karts I've felt some discomfort in my back, so that event may provide an early indication of how well the procedure worked."