Riding high and leading the point standings, things are going great for Jeff Gordon – especially since he announced recently that AARP and Drive to End Hunger renewed their sponsorship.

“I’m really excited,” he commented. “It’s been so rewarding working with AARP and Drive To End Hunger battling senior hunger over the past several years.  To get a chance to do that next year again is fantastic. We are very happy about that news.”

In working with the AARP and Drive to End Hunger, Gordon says the most rewarding part has been getting out there and volunteering with fundraising efforts.

” This is really encouraged me to get out there and get with other volunteers and make a difference in how you spend your time doing that,” Gordon explained. “It’s been phenomenal.  I really do enjoy it.  Whether we are delivering meals or whether we are sorting through can goods or dry foods.  This program is amazing and it really makes a big difference in so many people’s lives. I look forward to doing some more of that.”

Gordon’s volunteer efforts led to being invited to a dinner at the White House this past weekend, where Gordon got to meet the president of Rwanda.

“I got an opportunity to shake hands and meet the president of Rwanda President Kagame.  That was a first for me and it was important,” he commented. “What an incredible event just to be a part of Ingrid and I felt very fortunate to be there.  It was great to see the President and Mrs. Obama for a short period of time.  We even danced next to them on the dance floor which was probably one of the coolest things I think Ingrid and I have ever had the opportunity to do at the White House.  That was pretty neat.  It was really special.”

Gordon has been doing fundraising for children in Africa and Rwanda, in looking to help improve their health care resources to give the kids a chance. It’s been rewarding so far and Gordon notes that helping with the building of the Guyra Hospital, children and adults are both getting quality cancer care.

“That is something I’m really proud of and we want to do more of it, “he expressed. “It’s a great country to do that kind of work in.  Hopefully it can expand to other countries within Africa.”

Now with his effort forced on track, Gordon hopes for another trip to victory lane in repeating past Watkins Glen success. The past couple of years haven’t gone according to that plan, but that was due to lack of speed. However, Gordon says that the speed is there this weekend by what he saw in practice.

“That is where we have probably struggled more than anything is getting the car right for qualifying,” Gordon said. “I was extremely happy and encouraged with how our practice went this morning.”

The rule changes in regards to the spoiler height and overall height of the car have helped make a difference, notably, as Gordon says it has changed the brake zones.

“You can really get into the braking zones deep,” he said. “We are going to see some fast times for qualifying for sure.  To me there was just a little bit of added grip, but it goes away fast and you are slipping and sliding around bouncing over the curves.  From that standpoint it’s going to be for the most part business as usual here at Watkins Glen.  I think you are definitely getting a sense of the extra grip that the car has.”

If he’s able to pull off the victory on Sunday, Gordon says that it’d be a “real true sign of how good this team is” in following up what they were able to do at Kansas and the Brickyard so far thus year.

For Danica Patrick, practice at Watkins Glen did not go anything like she planned. The day started off with a blown motor, resulting in plenty of loss time as the team made the change. Then out on track with only five minutes left in the session, she would have a tire go flat, causing her to make heavy contact with the tire barrier.

“I blew a tire.  I have no idea,” she commented afterwards. “I think it was only two laps, the second lap on tires.  So apparently the No. 20 was radioing in saying there was some smoke. I never saw any, but he said he saw it and said ‘you guys should pit.’ Just in the carousel there is so much load on the left-front there that I guess that was the go spot for it.  It has been a record horrible day I’m pretty sure.”

Crew chief Tony Gibson commented that based on what he saw, it is possible that a shock broke near the beginning of the lap, resulting in a flat tire.

“She went into (Turn) one and she said it moved more than it normally did and then (Matt) Kenseth said it started tire smoking and as soon as he said that she hit,” he explained. “It looks to me like a shock broke.  It looks like it just compressed all down and done.”

With not getting the start that she hoped for the weekend, Patrick is hoping that she has used all her bad luck and mistakes up for the weekend heading into Saturday’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race. Though unfortunately, it will continue to have its effect as Patrick will have to start at the back on Sunday. Gibson says that his attitude as a crew chief will be to simply treat qualifying as another practice session for Patrick.

“I would say if you are going to have to start at the back of a track the strategies are all over the place on road courses and it just might push us into something that works,” she commented.

In trying to better her 20th place finish from a year ago, Patrick says that no doubt she and Tony Gibson will try to get off-sequence in an attempt to gain track position.

“I think that from the beginning – there are only two to three stops that are really needed so you’ve got to start from the beginning and just try and pit when nobody else does,” she commented. “If a yellow comes out you stay out and go long on fuel to try and make it in two stops and if nobody is coming in and trying to stretch it then you come in and hope for a yellow, then when the caution comes out you don’t pit and they do.  Then you just fight for your life after that to not be driven over.  I feel like the tires have been pretty consistent this weekend, so I think that is something we can pull off if everything goes our way.”