Testing At The Glen
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 28)- - Jeff Gordon tested at the Watkins Glen road course on Monday, July 26, in preparation for the Frontier at the Glen on August 15. The track now features concrete patches in the turns to prevent the pavement from breaking up as the race progresses. Among the drivers on hand for testing were Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Mike Skinner, Ron Fellows, and Boris Said. Timing isn't an exact science during testing since the official NASCAR Timing and Scoring isn't in place to verify anything. According to hand-held watches, Gordon's fastest lap during the session was around 1:13.9. The track record, set three years ago by Dale Earnhardt, is 1:13:054.

The Pitchman
HARRISBURG, N.C. (July 22)- - New advertisements for Fritos featuring Jeff Gordon begin airing in select markets on July 20. Frito-Lay is rolling out of its latest product, Fritos Racerz. Similar to shaped pasta, the tiny corn chip looks like a race car right down to the #24 on the door. The snacks come in original, honey barbecue and nacho cheese flavors. "This thing tested extremely well, especially with young people," Roger Enrico, PepsiCo chairman and chief executive, said during a conference call earlier in the week. Michael White, PepsiCo's chief financial officer, said that operating profit should increase in the low double-digits for the quarter ending September 30, following 12 percent growth in both the first and second quarters of this year.

The Joy Of Cola
HARRISBURG, N.C. (July 5)- - Jeff Gordon's newest Pepsi commercial debuted during the Pepsi 400 on July 3. His co-star in the commercial was child actor Hallie Eisenberg, who has appeared in recent TV commercials for the soft drink. Pepsi is the domestic beverage division of PepsiCo, Inc. Its brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi One, Mountain Dew, Slice, Mug, All Sport Body Quencher and Aquafina. The company also makes and markets ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.

Three Car Garage
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (July 2)- - Jeff Gordon drives one of the three cars fielded by Hendrick Motorsports. His teammates, Terry Labonte and Wally Dallenbach, have struggled this season. Not unlike the struggles of three of the five Roush Racing teams. Most would assume that Gordon's team is given the best equipment and engineers. However, that isn't the case. "It's all there but I think it has to do a lot with communication and the different things that go with it," Gordon said. On occasion, the drivers have swapped cars during test sessions to see what the others have. "It's totally different," said Gordon of Labonte's and Dallenbach's setups. "They like a car to handle a lot differently than I do. There's a lot of people who have poured money into their race programs, but it's knowing where to put the money," he added. "How to utilize the information you get from what that generates. I think that's what we do best." (From Speed Magazine)

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