Jeff Gordon To Co-Host "Live With Regis And Kelly"
On January 18: Jeff Gordon is scheduled to make his 11th appearance as guest co-host on the popular daytime talk show “Live with Regis and Kelly” on Friday, January 18. The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet will fill in for host Regis Philbin. “Live with Regis and Kelly” is in its 20th year of national syndication and continues to wake up millions of Americans each day. “Live with Regis and Kelly” is executive produced by Michael Gelman and distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Produced by WABC-TV in New York, “Live with Regis and Kelly” airs in over 200 markets across the country. Check local listings for time and channel.
- Performance PR Plus For Dupont Motorsports, Press Release
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Chevy NSCS At Las Vegas Test: Jeff Gordon Press Conf. Transcript
GM Racing Communications, Press Release
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT IMPALA SS met with media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during preseason testing and discussed the new race car, working with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a new member of Hendrick Motorsports, and more:
ON THE TEST SO FAR:
“It started out great. I’ve been a little bit under the weather. I’ve had a cold so I wasn’t really anxious to beat it out on the race track today. But then the car started driving as good as it did when we first got out there, I told the guys they were already making me feel better. It seemed like as time went on and we got some more rubber on the track that we started to figure out this newer car on this track. We lost a little bit of that. We didn’t lose speed, but other guys seemed to gain more. So it’s testing. You’re trying things and you’re trying to answer questions. But the bottom line is you’re always trying to find speed and ways to go faster. I’m pretty pleased. I was optimistic coming in. This time last year, we had a new track surface and a new tire and we were slipping and sliding all over the place. I was anxious to see what would happen here – especially with the weather conditions that we had today. The car was very comfortable. I was very happy with it.”
AT CHRISTMAS, WAS YOUR BABY DAUGHTER MORE IMPRESSED WITH THE PRESENTS OR THE WRAPPING PAPER?
“I think neither. We’re a little early into it. This Christmas we just enjoyed being together in a beautiful place. We were down in Mexico and even Ingrid and I, we said here’s our gift right here. We didn’t even do a whole lot for one another. We just enjoyed the three of us being together. But I’m looking forward to next Christmas (laughs).”
ON DALE EARNHARDT JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, HOW IS HE SETTLING IN?
“He’s doing very well. I’m extremely impressed. Today, really, being the first time at this type of track, Daytona is Daytona and we know he’s going to be good, but he was fast today and I feel like he and Tony Eury Jr. are a great asset to our organization. I’ve had a lot of fun working with him so far. He’s fit right in.”
BRIAN FRANCE MADE SOME COMMENTS LAST WEEK ABOUT GETTING BACK TO NASCAR’S ROOTS AND THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE MADE TOO MANY CHANGES. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? CAN THEY GET BACK TO THEIR FANS AND DO YOU THINK THAT’S A GOOD THING?
“Yeah, I told them not to change that point system (laughs). I do think we’ve gone through a lot of changes. The sport has been on a great ride and growing so fast and doing so well that I think that Brian’s influence can continue to take that on. But I do think along the way we did have a few too many changes and things that probably are all good for the sport, but just not all at once. I think it’s great that they’ve got that attitude of hey, let’s just put some great racing out there on the track and not worry about trying to make everything so perfect. It’s nice and refreshing for the teams to come into the season and not have to think about changes other than trying to focus on this car and our team and go win the championship.”
IT’S DIFFICULT TO COVER TESTING BECAUSE THE SPEEDS DON’T SAY A LOT. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO DIGEST ALL THIS?
“I think we all have the telemetry or the times and the first thing I’m going to do and I would recommend to you guys if it’s available to you is to look at all the laps that every car made. The only true way you know who’s good and who’s not is to look at five and ten and 20 lap runs of a team or a car. I don’t think we made more than six or seven laps at a time. So you do have to be careful. I think there are certain teams that are up toward the top that if they’re fast now, they’re going to be fast when we come back. There are some guys making qualifying runs that are outside the top 35 in points. You’ve got to be careful about reading too much in that. We focus on our own program. At the end of the day, I feel like we were a tenth or two off. But we’re trying a lot of things. I feel like the speed is going to come and I feel real good about it. They offer that to us on the race weekends. I don’t know if they offer that during tests. That’s going to tell us who really to watch. Guys can put up a great first lap, but if they fall off after five laps they fall off, we’re not going to worry about them too much except maybe for qualifying (laughs).”
NOW THAT JUNIOR HAS JOINED THE TEAM, HOW DO YOU TALK TO CASEY MEARS TO LET HIM KNOW THAT HE’S STILL ON THE TEAM. THERE IS THE PERCEPTION THAT HE’S BEING SENT OUT A LITTLE BIT.
“Oh, aren’t we all? (laughs) C’mon, man, it’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. Let’s be honest that if you’re not realistic about the fact that he’s the most popular guy and the guy who gets the most media attention and that would be the case whether he’s on your team or on any other team, but you treat him as if he’s just one of us. We don’t treat him like he’s this hierarchy or anything. He’s a race car driver. He’s been very humble and appreciative about working with us and he’s the same way and it’s gone very well. But it’s no secret that on media day last week at Hendrick Motorsports who had the biggest crowd. And that’s just part of it. That’s part of it for Casey and Jimmie (Johnson) and me. Jimmie is a two-time, back-to-back champion, and he has to accept that as well. As long as we focus on doing our jobs behind the wheel and working as best as we can as teammates and as individuals, we’re going to get the benefits he brings and also hopefully make our team rise to the occasion. To me, it’s even more incentive to go out there an be competitive.”
CAN YOU COMPARE THE CAR IN THIS TEST TO THE DAYTONA TEST? WHAT KIND OF RACING WILL WE SEE HERE?
“It’s a little early. As the day went on, the groove started widening out and that was improving things. We have to have multiple-groove race tracks with this car. Except for a short track where you can bump and bang them and move guys out of the way, at any other track you’ve got to have multiple grooves. So this track had a really nice outside groove down turns 1 and 2 the last time we were here; a little bit in turns 3 and 4. Today it started out right around the bottom but as the day went on it started widening out. I think we’ll see that in the race, so that’s a good thing. This car punches a big hole. When it does that, it’s going to be tough to ride in right behind the guy in front of you. But the side-by-side seems to be excellent. The draft that you get down the straightaway is really good. I’m hoping that those things create some great passing and overtaking and great racing. That’s my hope. I’m optimistic about it. I think that from the first time that I drove the car in Michigan, we’ve come such a long way as teams with the set-ups and learning about this car to get it closer to what we’ve been racing as far as comfort. If the drivers aren’t comfortable, they’re not going to race hard. And so I think you’re going to see it progress every race as each year goes by.”
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In keeping with the tradition of naming certain driver threads for our more awesome members, I dedicate this thread to Curves, my co-moderator and sometimes co-conspirator! ~LOL~
This thread is for the articles, press releases, discussions and comments about Jeff Gordon in the 2008 season. Curves has softened my heart to Jeff, she is just that awesome!
YOU ROCK CURVES!!
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Performance PR Plus For Dupont Motorsports, Press Release
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 6, 2008) - Jeff Gordon could not have scripted a better finish to his first restrictor-plate race in the “Car of Tomorrow” (CoT). After hanging back to avoid trouble and nearly losing a lap due to a pit road miscue, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion led one lap – the final one – en route to victory at Talladega last October.
But Gordon believes the plot will be much different when the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season opens with the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on February 17. While a plot change will most likely occur, could we witness the same ending – the No. 24 DuPont team celebrating in Victory Lane -- seen 81 times before?
“You always want to win the Daytona 500 – it’s the ultimate,” said Gordon, winner of the 1997, 1999 and 2005 Daytona 500's. “This is our Super Bowl and there’s a lot of attention given to this race and to the race winner, maybe more so this year because it’s the 50th anniversary of the ‘500.’
“I’m fortunate enough to have a few of the Daytona 500 trophies, but none have gold in it like this year’s trophy.”
The 50th running is also a first – the debut of the CoT in race conditions at the famed 2.5-mile speedway.
“We were able to run the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Impala SS at Talladega last year, and that race gave us a better understanding of what to expect with this car in big drafts on a superspeedway,” said Gordon. “Talladega and Daytona may appear similar, but they’re very different.
“Handling is not an issue at Talladega, so it was possible to hang back and cruise during the race then make a run at the end like we did. That’s not going to be possible here.
“I expect handling to be an issue, so I think that will help separate cars during a long run. Instead of one 43-car pack, we’ll probably have multiple packs with 10 to 12 cars in them.
“With the cars punching such a big hole in the air and the use of bigger restrictorplates than in year’s past, it should be exciting with a lot of opportunities to pass. But, there are still a lot of unknowns until we race.”
That race opportunity for Gordon will occur during the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night, a special non-points event for pole winners from the previous season and past champions of the event.
“The Shootout will be our first true test with the car in race conditions here,” said Gordon, a two-time winner of the event. “We’ll use a brand new car for that race, but it should give us a lot of valuable information we can use in the Gatorade Duels.”
While the front row for the Daytona 500 will be determined during time trials this Sunday, the remainder of the field will be set during the Duels – two 60-lap qualifying races – the following Thursday. The driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet has four wins in the qualifying races including victories the past two years and his rookie season of 1993.
The festivities lead up to the Daytona 500 on February 17, and Gordon hopes to kick off the 2008 season in style – one that fans of “24" will truly appreciate.
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Jeff Gordon’s a proud papa with a fifth Cup title on his mind
By MIKE BRUDENELL
Detroit Free Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Hendrick Motorsports veteran Jeff Gordon is a preseason favorite to win this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, but Thursday he had more personal things on his mind.
Like his 7-month-old daughter, Ella Sofia, who, Gordon said, started crawling Thursday.
“She got her legs up beneath her and kind of lunged,” explained Gordon, the four-time Cup champion and series all-time money leader with more than $93 million in earnings. “Officially, I say she started crawling this morning.”
Ella Sofia will travel with Gordon and his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, a former model, to most of the races this year. Gordon is excited and showed it at Thursday’s media day at Daytona International Speedway.
While other drivers were talking setups and pit stops, Gordon was having fun chatting about pregnancy, births and diapers.
“It’s the greatest experience,” Gordon said of being a father. “It’s an amazing emotion.”
After coming to grips with nighttime feedings and disrupted sleep, Gordon said Ella Sofia was bringing much joy to his life.
“It’s amazing how it keeps getting better every month,” said Gordon, who has been picked No. 1 in 2008 by the NASCARMedia.com media poll, which tallies votes of more than 200 media members. “From the first moment you see her, you’re in awe.”
Gordon will start the Cup campaign Feb. 17 when he attempts to win his fourth Daytona 500 after victories in 1997, 1999 and 2005. First business, however, is the Budweiser Shootout here Saturday night. Gordon should be right in the hunt in the 70-lap event and throughout the 36-race regular Cup season.
After finishing second in series points to teammate Jimmie Johnson in 2007, Gordon is looking to go one better this year.
“A championship – it’s the same every year,” said Gordon of his goals. “It’s a championship or bust.”
Last season, Gordon recorded six wins, 21 top fives, 30 top 10s and seven poles, good enough most years to win a championship. But the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet failed by 77 points to catch Johnson, who finished with 10 victories in capturing his second consecutive title.
Gordon said he is working hard to reverse positions in 2008.
“On the whole, we were very consistent (last year),” Gordon said. “But speed-wise we weren’t the fastest. We need to be a little bit more aggressive with the setup. We didn’t win a championship, so it’s business as usual to get ourselves into victory lane as often as possible and win the title,”
Gordon will not only have to keep an eye on Johnson this year at Hendrick but also Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has joined the team from DEI. Gordon sees Earnhardt doing well but knows the move puts Junior in the spotlight.
“The pressure has never been higher on him,” Gordon said. “Now he’s going to show what he’s capable of. I think this is going to be the real test of what Junior is capable of doing. But I think he’s going to have a great year.”
Gordon said he believes Earnhardt Jr. is already off to a good start at Hendrick.
“He could have come in with the attitude of, ‘I’m the man,’ but he hasn’t done that at all,” Gordon said. “He’s done a great job of coming in and being respected.”
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Jeff Gordon To Co-Host "Live With Regis And Kelly"
“24" Returns To FOX On February 17
Jeff Gordon’s a proud papa with a fifth Cup title on his mind
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