Loudon: Jeff Gordon prview

GORDON HEADS TO NHIS ON TOP OF THE WORLD

LOUDON, N.H. (June 26, 2007) - As the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series heads to the Northeast for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Jeff Gordon is atop the points standings - and on top off the world.

Gordon, who has posted four wins and 14 top-10's in 16 races this season, is also the proud new father to Ella Sofia, born last week. His sleep habits have been affected, and he could not be happier about that. "In years past, all I wanted to do was sleep after an overnight trip from the west coast," said Gordon.

"This time, I got home at 3:30 a.m. and all I wanted to do was play with Ella and be with Ingrid.

"As much as I like to be with them, they'll probably be happy when I leave for Loudon so they can get some rest!"

In 24 career starts at "The Magic Mile," Gordon has three wins, three poles and 13 top- 10's. He has also posted 10 top-fives and led 1,104 laps, records for both categories at the 1.058-mile track. But it has not been so magical recently for Gordon at the New England track, at least in terms of visiting Victory Lane. His last win occurred here in 1998.

"We've had some runs where we've led and battled for the win, but we've also struggled," said Gordon, who finished third at NHIS in September of 2006. "But I was happy with the performance of this DuPont team last year here in the first race of the Chase. We led laps and the car was really good on long runs. "That's probably the best we've run here in a few years."

Chassis notes from that race will not help this time around, though, as teams will be using the "Car of Tomorrow" (CoT) for the first time at Loudon. In seven previous CoT races this year, Gordon has posted top-10's in each event - including wins at Phoenix and Darlington - with an average finish of 3.85.

"It will be a learning experience for everyone when we arrive at the track on Friday," said Gordon. "During the Friday practice session, we'll concentrate on our qualifying setup. A good qualifying effort helps with the pit selection and puts you in position to lead a lap to gain bonus points.

"You can definitely start in the back and move forward here, but there's always the possibility of getting caught up in a wreck. I'd prefer to start up front.

"And I'd prefer to finish there, too."

-credit: hm