#7 Energizer Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400
Pre Race Report

• What if they named it the Crown Royal Presents the Slider 400? – Robby Gordon Motorsport’s run of bad luck continued for the 3rd straight week, this time as Gordon’s Jim Beam Toyota was involved in a multi-car accident that sent the #7 head first into the back stretch wall. While the Toyota’s damage was terminal, Robby escaped injury and will be back behind the wheel of his Energizer-sponsored car for Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway.

• Just who is this Russ Friedman fellow? And why does he have a race named after him? As part of a public relations campaign for Crown Royal, Russ “Shrapnel” Friedman won an essay contest detailing his experiences in Iraq as a former Marine and a two-time recipient of the Purple Heart Award. Second runner up for the award was Army private Forrest Gump who’s portrayal of his buttocks wound was a crowd favorite, but lacked the overall literary complexity found in Friedman’s essay.

• As God as My Witness, I though COT’s Couldn’t Fly – Pilot and NASCAR driver Carl “Iceman” Edwards spoke last week in New York during a taping of The Larry King show about his spectacular crash on the last lap of Sunday’s race at Talladega. “All I know, I was happy to ride around the back of the field with the #7 car for nearly the entire race. Then when I was ready to make my move, I looked down out of my windshield and saw pavement,” exclaimed a surprised Edwards. “If had known I was going to go flying, I would have brought my Ray Ban Aviators.”

Robby Gordon quotes: “After Sunday, all I can say is wow, wow, wow. The hit I took into the wall was one of the worst I’ve had in a long time. I haven’t hit something that hard since the night before when I was introduced to one of the new Jim Beam girls.”

Kirk Almquist quotes: “Well, we dodged a significant points bullet with the car being too low after our qualifying run. I’ll take the blame for that one. I noticed one of the NASCAR officials pushing down on the splitter with his left foot, but didn’t realize what he was doing. I just thought the guy was trying to itch his big toe. Live and learn, I suppose.”