from the Crossville Chronicle – Crossville, Tn Friday Nov. 9, 2007
By Joe Dunn
With two races left in the Chase to the Nextel Cup, Jeff Gordon heads to Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) without the points lead. Unlike last week at Texas, Gordon enters this race trailing teammate Jimmie Johnson by 30 points, but the driver of the DuPont Chevy hopes to repeat his earlier win this season in the desert.
Jimmie Johnson is on a tear following his third consecutive win for the second time in his career and in the ‘Chase’, he did three in a row during the Chase in 2004. Clint Bowyer’s 19th place finish at Texas dropped him to 181 points behind Johnson all but eliminating his chances for the title.
Sunday’s Checker Auto Parts 500 marks this season’s 16th running of the Car of Tomorrow – NASCAR’s new-generation race car that will compete fulltime in 2008. It’s a return trip to one-mile Phoenix, which hosted the new car’s third event in April. A seven-year project of NASCAR’s Research and Development Center, the new car is the next-generation race vehicle. It incorporates crucial safety innovations, better competition and cost containment opportunities for teams.
The areas Dirt Track racing season comes to an end next weekend as Cleveland Speedway host the final events on November 16 & 17. Friday Nov. 16 will begin the 3rd annual Joe Lee Johnson Memorial weekend with the BJ Parker Thunder series $2700 to win race as well as other racing divisions. On Saturday Nov. 17 the Southern All Stars Gobbler 75 will feature a $5,000 to win Super Late Model race along with a full racing card. For more info contact Cleveland Speedway at (423) 479-8574
