Practice Dates/Times/TV
- Practice: Friday, October 26, 3:30 - 5:00pm/et TV-none; Saturday, October 27, 8:45 - 9:30am/et TV-none
- Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, October 27, 11:20am - 12:20pm/et on TV-ESPN via tape 6:00pm/et
Qualifying Info
- Qualifying Draw: Friday, October 26, 2:30pm/et
- Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-43, Friday, October 26 at 7:10pm/et, TV-ESPN2, no re-air;
AND live via radio at PRN Radio and Sirius Satellite NASCAR Radio.
Info courtesy Jayski.com
Attention Washington D.C. elitists! Don’t forget your shots if you will be within several miles of the race!
Early prediction, Jr. gets an engine that works this week-end.
Are most of your drivers out on strike like mine are? I need to plan better next year...
whew,, end of the work week, 3 days off, thanks for the thread,, qualifying sucked for the ol’ Norm’s BBq’donuts&lagerInn this week, zippo for points..
damn.
I’m gonna toss this one out there ,, hope folks can be nice..
Hey Tube,, is that church addition a daycare or a bingo parlor you’re sheperding 8-?
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Gordon celebrates 15-year anniversary of NASCAR debut at Atlanta
October 27, 2007
By Bruce Martin PA SportsTicker Contributing Editor
HAMPTON, Georgia (Ticker) - When Jeff Gordon arrived for his first-ever NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992, much of the attention was on one of the greatest points races in NASCAR history and the fact it was the final race in Richard Petty’s career.
Gordon was a much-heralded 21-year-old driver with a mullet haircut and a mustache driving a rainbow-colored Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. But the spotlight was not directed at him as fans came to bid farewell to Petty, “The King” of NASCAR racing with 200 victories and seven Cup titles.
There were six drivers in position to win the title in what was then the final race of the season and it would go down as one of the most pivotal races in NASCAR history when underdog driver Alan Kulwicki drove his Ford “Underbird” to the title by just 10 points over race winner Bill Elliott.
Gordon finished 31st after crashing out of the race and little was written about his effort. But over time, it was quite evident the torch had been passed from “The King” to Gordon, who has laid claim to the throne as NASCAR royalty.
So 15 years later, the name of the series has been changed from Winston Cup to Nextel Cup, but Gordon is on top of the standings entering Sunday’s Pep Boys 500 with a 53-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
If Gordon is able to close out the season on top, it would be his fifth Cup title in 15 years.
To celebrate the occasion, Gordon is the Honorary Starter of the race while Petty will be the Grand Marshal.
“It’s an honor to give the command to start engines prior to the race at a track where my Cup Series career began 15 years ago,” Gordon said. “For the first time, the entire crowd may actually cheer for something I did.
“Or, then again, this may be the first time that the command is booed.”
While Gordon continues to get his share of boos for being so good, many of the fans that continue to boo him have probably forgotten why they started the derisive cheer so many years ago.
But this weekend has been a chance to remember that day 15 years ago when one great career ended and another began.
“I was with Richard Petty today, we did a photo together, neither one of us could believe that it had been 15 years ago,” Gordon said. “It is pretty amazing from where I stand, of how much as gone on in my life and my career for those past 15 years.
“I was so young and naive and clueless as to what was ahead. How could you be any different? I was just excited to get the opportunity.”
Much has changed for Gordon in 15 years. At that time, he was just a young kid from Pittsboro, Indiana who had moved from California with his family when he was 13 so that he could drive race cars without a driver’s license.
As a teenager, his USAC career was so successful that he appeared destined for the Indianapolis 500. But he came of age at a time when the predominant open-wheel series at that team, the now-defunct CART series, was more interested in foreign drivers with road-racing backgrounds.
When Gordon was unable to get an Indy Lights ride, he got a test in a NASCAR Busch car. After spending two years in the Busch Series for team owner Bill Davis, he was swiped up by rival team owner Rick Hendrick.
It was the beginning of an outstanding Cup career that all started on a crisp November day in 1992 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“I know we tested at Charlotte and we tested here and it went really well and we went pretty quick but we didn’t qualify that well,” Gordon recalled. “They had second round qualifying back then, we qualified fastest second day and got to like 21st, I think that was the best you could get to then.
“Throughout the day, the car was just loose on the short runs, but really fast. I pushed a little bit too hard during one of the runs through the middle and spun out and crashed. It wasn’t long after that, I remember seeing Richard Petty in a ball of flames in turn three. I guess I could say it was memorable, but I can’t say it was good memories.”
Just being part of Petty’s last race was a thrill to the youngster at that time. Today, Gordon is mentioned in the same class as Petty as one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers.
At 36, Gordon has 81 wins. He’s primed to pass Cale Yarborough’s 83 career wins and Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip each with 84 career wins.
If Gordon wins 25 more races in his career, he will surpass David Pearson’s 105 wins and become the No. 2 driver in career wins in NASCAR Cup history.
“Probably the coolest thing that I carry with me was the driver’s meeting,” Gordon recalled. “I don’t remember a driver’s meeting quite like that. It was all about Richard (Petty) and he spoke. I can’t really remember the things that he said, but I remember his handing out these money clips that had an insignia of him with his cowboy hat and each starting position was inscribed on there.
“I have one that has 21 on it. I still have it. To me that was the coolest part of the day was just to be able to be a part of that. I know that I am one of a very few guys, I think, that has one of those money clips. I never used it, but I still have it.”
While Gordon has a chance to reflect on the beginning of his career, he also looks forward to the prize that will come at the conclusion of the season as he tries to hold-off teammate Jimmie Johnson in the battle for the Nextel Cup.
“I think there is a lot of racing left to go,” Gordon said. “Four races - that is a lot of laps and a lot of points. If the top-three guys don’t have major problems, then it is a three-man race.”
A 53-point lead over defending champion Johnson will be quite a battle because Johnson isn’t going to let up on Gordon.
“I feel very good about all the tracks left on the circuit,” Johnson said. “I feel that Phoenix might be a chance where Jeff could earn some points on me going off of the statistics and how we run from place to place. So I really don’t know what to expect.
“The game that Jeff is bringing week after week, he’s dangerous. He’s tough to beat and I’ve got to show up here this weekend, try to lead the most laps and try to finish ahead of him and score every point everywhere I can.”
It’s a nice day here in Atlanta...I hope Jeff Gordon wins!!!!!!!!!
Is this the same Pep Boys who fired reservists a few years ago.
I'll take it