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Champs Sports
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Die-Cast Specials
Jeff Gordon Gets New DuPont Paint Job For 2009 Season
By: Keith Bloemendaal
The new paint scheme will be dubbed "Fire Storm".
The unveiling of the #24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports DuPont Chevrolet came on Thurday's edition of the Today Show on NBC. It marks only the 3rd major paint scheme change for the DuPont Team. The design came from renowned motorsports artist Sam Bass who said "“I have been most fortunate to have had the opportunity to design the graphics for the DuPont/Hendrick Motorsports/Jeff Gordon race cars since they entered the NASCAR Cup Series in 1992."
The first time we the fans will officially see "Fire Storm" will be during speed weeks in Daytona. The Hendrick Team holds one of the longest standing sponsor/driver/owner relationships in NASCAR history. Richard Petty and STP come to mind when I think of other long standing relationships with sponsors. Of course, Jeff Gordon is no Richard Petty, but you have to give him credit for being a great driver and champion.
I am not the biggest fan of Jeff Gordon over the years, I don't hate him, just don't particularly root for him on Sunday unless he is somewhere near Kyle Busch! I do, however, like this paint scheme. Having DuPont as the primary sponsor of the Hendrick #24 for the last 16 years, you would think they would have cool paint schemes popping up all the time. This, by far, is the best paint job I have seen on the DuPont car. The flames look good, and I especially like the black background better.
What do you think, better, worse, don't care. Comment below to voice your opinion.
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FavoriteTeamWear asks: Would the Points Race Be Different Without Chase Points?
After watching Kyle Busch fall to 12th in Sprint Cup Chase points over the last 2 weeks, I can't help but wonder where the chasers would be without the Chase setup. I did some research on this, and found that the points race would be different.
Chase Points After Dover:
| Rank | Driver | Points | Behind Leader |
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 5390 | ------- |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 5380 | -10 |
| 3 | Greg Biffle | 5380 | -10 |
| 4 | Jeff Burton | 5308 | -82 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 5289 | -101 |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | 5284 | -106 |
| 7 | Tony Stewart | 5277 | -113 |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | 5272 | -118 |
| 9 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 5261 | -129 |
| 10 | Matt Kenseth | 5123 | -167 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 5197 | -193 |
| 12 | Kyle Busch | 5180 | -210 |
While I believe everyone in the Chase still has a chance to win the Championship, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin really need to get their acts together to get there.
Dale Earnhardt Jr has fallen significantly, but still has a chance if he can win Talledega and Texas, which he historically runs well at for both.
All in all, the Sprint Chase For The Cup is still up for grabs, and any of the teams still have a chance to win it, or to throw it away.
In contrast, let us look at the points if there was no Chase Points:
| Rank | Driver | Points | Behind Leader |
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 4011 | ---- |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 3978 | -33 |
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 3916 | -95 |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 3739 | -272 |
| 5 | Jeff Burton | 3682 | -329 |
| 6 | Greg Biffle | 3660 | -351 |
| 7 | Kevin Harvick | 3572 | -439 |
| 8 | Tony Stewart | 3562 | -449 |
| 9 | Jeff Gordon | 3493 | -518 |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 3422 | -589 |
| 11 | Clint Bowyer | 3390 | -621 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 3355 | -656 |
As you can see, this would be a much different chase, had the points not been realigned with 10 races to go. It would only be a 3 car race at this point, a Ford, a Toyota, and a Chevrolet. Also, three teams: Rousch, Gibbs, and Hendrick.
Kyle Busch would obviously be in better shape.
Looking at the top three, Jimmie Johnson would have more work to do to win a historical Championship for him (3 in a row). Kyle Busch would only be 33 points behind leader Carl Edwards, showing the benefits of having such a strong season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr, and everyone behind him could almost be counted out, making it a three car race.
I can't help but wonder, is the Chase For The Cup really more exciting, or is it unfair to those having raced so well all season, only to fall back from 1st to 12th after 2 races.
What do you think? Is the Chase setup better?
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NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon Spins The Fastest Lap For The Dover Race
By Keith Bloemendaal
Jeff Gordon spins the fast lap in qualifying today at Dover International Speedway for the Camping World RV 400 with a time of 22.921 and a speed of 157.061mph.
Earlier this year, Gordon started 7th at the Monster and finished 5th. Over the last 2 years he has finished in the top 12 at Dover for every race. Over Jeff Gordon's career, he has 4 wins, and 14 top 5's at the Monster Mile.
Coming into this race Jeff Gordon is 11th in Chase points, 99 points behind leaders Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Interesting facts to ponder:
no winner of the Dover Chase race has gone on to win the Cup Series championship during the Chase era,
and perhaps even more importantly, no Chase leader has entered Dover with the points lead and held it after the checkered flag.
The rest of the top 10 Qualifiers (bold indicates chase drivers):
- Jeff Gordon
- Mark Martin
- Denny Hamlin
- Kurt Busch
- Greg Biffle
- Clint Bowyer
- David Gilliland
- Matt Kenseth
- Jamie McMurray
- Dale Earnhardt Jr
Other Chase Drivers Qualified:
- Kyle Busch 11th
- Jimmie Johnson 20th
- Jeff Burton 21st
- Carl Edwards 22nd
- Kevin Harvick 24th
- Tony Stewart 33rd
Looking at these qualifying positions, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards will be working hard to get to the front if they want to protect the shared lead they have now.
In June of this year, Kyle Busch won the Best Buy 400 with Carl Edwards and who else but, GREG BIFFLE running 3rd! Make sure you watch this race, I am sure there will be some action, points position changes, and who knows, maybe Kyle Busch will end up in the wall or put someone in the wall!
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