Notebook: Gordon says two-car draft ‘here to stay’

Notebook: Gordon says two-car draft ‘here to stay’


(April 16, 2011)

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Jeff Gordon all but guaranteed that Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup race would contain plenty of excitement—in sharp contrast to a Saturday qualifying session he called a “snoozer.”
Though Gordon insisted that two-car drafts are here to stay in restrictor-plate racing, he believes the width of Talladega Superspeedway will make for racing that should appeal to fans.
“We cannot change this two-car draft,” said Gordon, who will start from the pole Sunday. “You can’t take something that you’ve learned and take technology, engineering and experience and just throw it in the trash. That’s the evolution of aerodynamics in our sport, so that’s here to stay.
“What I did say earlier this weekend is, ‘Let’s get through the Talladega weekend with the two-car draft,’ because this place is wide, and there’s lots of room to race on this track, and I think you might be surprised how exciting this two-car draft will be this weekend.
“Don’t get me wrong. While (qualifying) was not very exciting, I think (Sunday) is going to be filled with plenty of excitement. Is it different? Is it unique? Yeah. But it’s here to stay. I’m sorry, but, like it or not, it’s not going anywhere.”
Dillon’s ARCA win reminds Childress of Earnhardt
The way Ty Dillon won Saturday’s 3 Amigos 250 ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway was more than vaguely familiar to team owner Richard Childress, Dillon’s grandfather.
As the cars sped through the tri-oval at the 2.66-mile track, Dillon moved to the outside, and with just enough help from Bobby Gerhart, edged past Frank Kimmel to win the race.
The slingshot move on the final lap brought back memories to Childress.
“That looked like a classic Dale Earnhardt move on the last lap at the right time,” said Childress, car owner for six of Earnhardt’s seven Sprint Cup championships. “You can have a good car, but you have to know what to do with it, and he does.”
Earnhardt was a master of the draft at Talladega, where he claimed 10 of his 76 career Cup victories. Earnhardt’s last win came at Talladega on Oct. 15, 2000.
The force was with him
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano crossed paths in Talladega’s media center after Logano had pushed Busch to victory in Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 Nationwide Series race.
“Nice work, young Jedi,” Busch called across the room to his 20-year-old teammate.
“Yeah, thanks,” replied Logano, who nevertheless would have preferred to have gone to victory lane himself. Logano has finished third, second and second in his three Nationwide starts at Talladega.
By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service