Gordon the bad guy at Talladega
There might well be a toilet tissue shortage today in Alabama.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. last week urged fans to refrain from throwing cans or bottles at the track if Jeff Gordon wins Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
“I don’t feel comfortable with beer cans flying on the race track,” he said. “It’s not cool at all. Go out in the parking lot and wail a couple beers at your car.
“If you’re unhappy with it, throw toilet paper. It’s hard to clean up, but it won’t hurt anybody.”
Earnhardt Jr.’s word is pretty much law in these parts, and since Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet will start first after a lap at 192.069 mph Saturday, the 170,000 fans coming to the track on Sunday might want to be ready in case Gordon continues his “roll.”
The Nextel Cup points leader is coming off his first victory this season, last weekend at Phoenix, which also happened to be his 76th in the series.
That tied Gordon with the late Dale Earnhardt, setting up an opportunity to move ahead at a track where the seven-time Cup champion won a record 10 races. Oh, today would have been Earnhardt’s 56th birthday.
For his part, Gordon seems to be relishing the opportunity to annoy a vast majority of those who will make the trek to this 2.66-mile track Sunday.
“Nothing would make me happier than to see the reaction of the fans here by doing it this week,” said Gordon, who has won four Cup races at Talladega.
Busch Series
Bobby Labonte pushed teammate Tony Stewart to the lead, then won with a dramatic pass in the last 200 yards in the NASCAR Busch Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Labonte, a Nextel Cup star, came away with his 10th Busch win and first since 1998, beating Stewart, a two-time Cup champion, to the finish line by less than a car-length in the race that came down to a green-white-checker finish because of a late caution.
Craftsman Trucks
Erik Darnell passed a milestone and kept Mike Skinner from reaching one of his own.
Darnell picked up his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., dominating the race and snapping Skinner’s string of wins at three.
A victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 would have given Skinner – who also won three straight truck races in 1996 – the series record. Instead, the points leader finished fifth.
Indy Racing League
Tony Kanaan will start his next IndyCar Series race where he finished the last one. Kanaan, coming off a victory last week at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, broke a 29-race pole drought at Kansas Speedway. His last previous pole was for the 2005 Indianapolis 500.
He turned in a quick lap of 214.118 mph on the 1.5-mile tri-oval, edging Sam Hornish Jr. in qualifying for today’s Kansas Lottery Indy 300.