Auto racing: Whole new meaning
Jeff Gordon spent months imagining what it would be like to celebrate in Victory Lane with his daughter. With a last-lap pass of teammate Jimmie Johnson at Talladega Superspeedway, the new father made it happen.
With his victory Sunday at Talladega, Gordon scored his fifth win of the season – but first since daughter, Ella, was born June 20. As he drove his car toward the celebration, he became emotional when he realized he would be greeted for the first time by both his wife, Ingrid, and their only child.
“It was probably the coolest Victory Lane that I’ve ever had,” said Gordon, who has won 80 races in his Nextel Cup career.
“I always wondered and hoped that that moment would come, and I hope that it comes again when she can talk and remember the experience. But the fact that she was there, as soon as I started thinking about her meeting me there, I started tearing up.”
That was nothing compared to when he first made eye contact with Ingrid, who was waiting with Ella in her arms.
“She looked at me, and I looked at her, and we both just kind of lost it,” Gordon said. “She and I had talked about how amazing it would be, for Ella to be able to experience a lot of things that we’ve been able to experience.
“We know that she’s not yet able to remember it, but the fact that it’s even happening is cool to us. It was special. It was a big win, and it came at a great time, and just knowing that Ingrid and Ella were there was amazing.”
The victory made Gordon the career wins leader at restrictor-plate tracks – he now has 12, one more than the late Dale Earnhardt – and also pushed him back on top of the points standings.
The four-time series champion heads to Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend with a nine-point lead in the standings over Johnson with six races to go in the Chase for the championship.
Gordon knows it’s shaping up to be a battle to the end with his teammate, and is hoping after the successful year he’s had, he’ll come out on top and win his first title since 2001.
All his titles were won before he met Ingrid, and he wants nothing more than to celebrate as the champion in New York City with his new family. But should he come up short, he’ll still consider this year a tremendous success.
“Ingrid has never been a part of all this, so I know it would be really special for her,” he said. “But I think for us, the whole banquet, the trip to New York, it will all be special because of the year we’ve had – becoming parents, the great year we’ve had on the race track.
“No matter what happens, it’s going to be special and a hard speech to get through.”
Edward’s penalty maintained
An appeals committee on Wednesday upheld the penalty that was levied against Carl Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing team when his race-winning car failed inspection at Dover.
Edwards’ car did not meet minimum height requirements, and NASCAR docked him 25 points. Crew chief Bob Osborne was fined $25,000 and car owner Jack Roush was docked 25 car owner points.
Roush Fenway Racing appealed, claiming a jack bolt failed and caused the car to be too low. They argued that the car being low hurt performance, and 25 points was too steep a penalty during the Chase for the championship.
The National Stock Car Racing Commission said it considered that there was no indication the infraction was intentional, but that the car failed to meet post-race height requirements and “whether this constituted an advantage, disadvantage or otherwise does not alter the fact that the car failed to meet the rules.”
The three-member panel also rejected the assertion that drivers in the Chase should have a different penalty structure than those not in the championship playoff.
Carpentier comes to NASCAR
Former Champ Car star Patrick Carpentier signed with Gillett Evernham Motorsports to drive the No. 10 Dodge.
“We are excited to add Patrick Carpentier to our organization for 2008,” co-owner George Gillett said. “Patrick has shown tremendous talent in every series he has driven throughout his career and has a bright future in NASCAR.
“We are committed to giving Patrick the best resources and opportunities available to make this transition and we look forward to a great deal of success together both on and off the track.”
Stenhouse makes jump
Sprint car star Ricky Stenhouse Jr. signed with Roush Fenway Racing and will move to stock cars next season.
Stenhouse, who turns 20 later this month, will run the full ARCA schedule next season in a car fielded by Roush Fenway.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” Stenhouse said. “Since I was 6 years old and starting to race, this is what I’ve wanted to do. To be racing for Jack Roush, John Henry and a team like Roush Fenway Racing, it’s a dream come true.”