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Gordon Targets Victory Bash

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The Associated Press

Published: June 22, 2008

SONOMA, Calif. - NASCAR's annual trip to Sonoma has always been a celebration for Jeff Gordon. Surrounded by family and friends, he enjoys some fine wine, a game or two of croquet and his many personal milestones.

Two years ago he threw an engagement party here, and last year he celebrated the birth of his first child. The party this trip is daughter Ella's first birthday, planned for after the garage closes Saturday at Infineon Raceway.

But if Gordon has it his way, the celebration will stretch to Victory Lane today with his first win of the year. He already had scored four of his six 2007 victories by this point last season, but the four-time Cup Series champion has struggled to duplicate those efforts this year.

He said he's "not yet" frustrated by this winless streak. Instead, his aggravation is directed at the ups and downs his Hendrick Motorsports team is experiencing.

"I'm more frustrated that we're not more competitive," Gordon said. "To me, you can be the fastest car out there and not get wins. So that's not really bothering me. What's bothering me is that we're hit or miss. We've put some top-fives together - some of them we earned, some of them we earned by strategy."

Gordon was a model of consistency last season, racking up a NASCAR record 30 top-10 finishes in the 36 points races. So why has his performance fallen so far off?

Gordon points to the full-time use of the Car of Tomorrow as one of the issues plaguing the No. 24 team. Hendrick Motorsports was better than every other team last season in managing the back-and-forth swapping of the new and old cars, and maybe this year other teams have simply caught up because there's only one car to focus on.

However, today's event won't be a make-or-break race for his season.

"I don't want to put that kind of pressure on us to feel like we have to win here, and then if we don't it's our last opportunity or a failed weekend," he said. "I really just want to come in here and do what we know we're capable of doing."

Edwards Barges Past Bowyer At Milwaukee

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Carl Edwards was desperate to get back into Victory Lane in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and he wasn't about to let Clint Bowyer stand in his way at the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night.

Edwards shoved his fellow Sprint Cup series standout sideways with 25 laps to go, then held off Joey Logano for his first Nationwide victory of the season after dominating the series last year.

It was Edwards' first victory in the series since winning at Nashville last June, and an immediate payoff for a crew chief swap the Roush Fenway team made this week.

Bowyer took the lead with 39 laps to go. But Edwards got Bowyer back after a restart, getting underneath him in Turn 2 and took the lead with 25 to go.

Dave Reutimann of Zephyrhills finished fifth.

IRL: IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon will start on the pole for the fourth time in five starts, thanks to a brief but powerful rainstorm that broke out during qualifying for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. IRL set the field according to points.

FORMULA ONE: At Magny Cours, France, Kimi Raikkonen led qualifying for the French Grand Prix.

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