DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Jeff Gordon expects the Car of Tomorrow will get its most stringent test yet at the Dodge Avenger 500 this weekend.
NASCAR's future car has been run on shorter layouts such as Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond this year. Now, it makes its debut on a high-banked layout at the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway.
Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning thinks NASCAR's new vehicle will make the track dubbed "Too Tough To Tame" even wilder than before.
"The drivers are going to have their hands full," Browning said Tuesday. "There'll be a lot of close calls, a lot of action."
Gordon, who tested the car at Darlington in March, agreed.
"I think you're carrying more speeds here, so that's going to give you some indication" Gordon said then about how the car will perform at NASCAR's superspeedways.
"This track, you're trying to manage the grip that goes away, the speeds that we carry, the bumps that are here," he said. "And to do it with a car that is very foreign to us, you get a real challenge."
Gordon might have an edge on what's ahead. Already a six-time Darlington winner, Gordon took part in a Goodyear Tire test a couple of months ago.
With the way Hendrick Motorsports has swept Victory Lane in the four previous "CoT" events, "Jeff's got to be one of the favorites this week," Browning said.
Then again, that's usually the case with Gordon at "The Lady In Black."
Gordon stands third all-time in Darlington victories, trailing only the "Silver Fox," David Pearson (10); and "The Intimidator," the late Dale Earnhardt (nine). Gordon's success included a stretch of four straight Southern 500s, the former Labor Day weekend staple considered one of the sport's crown jewels for more than a half-century before the race was moved to California.
Gordon's last Darlington win came in the 2002 Southern 500, but his 2007 season makes him as good a threat as anyone to gain Darlington win No. 7 on Saturday night.
Gordon has won two of the past three Nextel Cup races and leads the point standings by more than 200 over teammate Jimmie Johnson.
The laps Gordon took during the Darlington test will surely help him this week, he said.
"There's no doubt it's an advantage," Gordon said. "Any place that we can take this car and get some laps on it and figure out the travel" on the racetrack.
It's no different, though, when other race teams run tests at other tracks. "It's well-known those cars start the weekend with an advantage," Gordon said. "They don't always end the weekend with an advantage."
Also taking part in March's test was another modern-day Darlington master, Greg Biffle.
Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing team has won the past two Darlington events since the track lost one of its two races and had its remaining date shuttled to the formerly moribund Mother's Day weekend. Biffle owns victories in the track's two Saturday night races and got a jump-start on a third with his practice laps two months ago.
"The car drove remarkably well for what I expected," Biffle said. "The car drove fairly good. ... They are difficult to drive, don't get me wrong. But Darlington's always been tough."
Darlington has long been a track where its oval shape, its odd exit out of turn 2, and abrasive surface have challenged the sport's best. Throw in the Car of Tomorrow "and it's going to probably be a different Darlington race," Browning said.
NASCAR's future car has been run on shorter layouts such as Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond this year. Now, it makes its debut on a high-banked layout at the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway.
Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning thinks NASCAR's new vehicle will make the track dubbed "Too Tough To Tame" even wilder than before.
"The drivers are going to have their hands full," Browning said Tuesday. "There'll be a lot of close calls, a lot of action."
Gordon, who tested the car at Darlington in March, agreed.
"I think you're carrying more speeds here, so that's going to give you some indication" Gordon said then about how the car will perform at NASCAR's superspeedways.
"This track, you're trying to manage the grip that goes away, the speeds that we carry, the bumps that are here," he said. "And to do it with a car that is very foreign to us, you get a real challenge."
Gordon might have an edge on what's ahead. Already a six-time Darlington winner, Gordon took part in a Goodyear Tire test a couple of months ago.
With the way Hendrick Motorsports has swept Victory Lane in the four previous "CoT" events, "Jeff's got to be one of the favorites this week," Browning said.
Then again, that's usually the case with Gordon at "The Lady In Black."
Gordon stands third all-time in Darlington victories, trailing only the "Silver Fox," David Pearson (10); and "The Intimidator," the late Dale Earnhardt (nine). Gordon's success included a stretch of four straight Southern 500s, the former Labor Day weekend staple considered one of the sport's crown jewels for more than a half-century before the race was moved to California.
Gordon's last Darlington win came in the 2002 Southern 500, but his 2007 season makes him as good a threat as anyone to gain Darlington win No. 7 on Saturday night.
Gordon has won two of the past three Nextel Cup races and leads the point standings by more than 200 over teammate Jimmie Johnson.
The laps Gordon took during the Darlington test will surely help him this week, he said.
"There's no doubt it's an advantage," Gordon said. "Any place that we can take this car and get some laps on it and figure out the travel" on the racetrack.
It's no different, though, when other race teams run tests at other tracks. "It's well-known those cars start the weekend with an advantage," Gordon said. "They don't always end the weekend with an advantage."
Also taking part in March's test was another modern-day Darlington master, Greg Biffle.
Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing team has won the past two Darlington events since the track lost one of its two races and had its remaining date shuttled to the formerly moribund Mother's Day weekend. Biffle owns victories in the track's two Saturday night races and got a jump-start on a third with his practice laps two months ago.
"The car drove remarkably well for what I expected," Biffle said. "The car drove fairly good. ... They are difficult to drive, don't get me wrong. But Darlington's always been tough."
Darlington has long been a track where its oval shape, its odd exit out of turn 2, and abrasive surface have challenged the sport's best. Throw in the Car of Tomorrow "and it's going to probably be a different Darlington race," Browning said.