Jeff Gordon eyes 'huge' win at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. -- In 1992, Jeff Gordon swept both NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In 1994, he won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile track, taking the checkered flag in the Coca-Cola 600.

But should Gordon triumph in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 (NBC, 7 p.m. ET), he believes that victory might be his most significant at Charlotte, given the stakes involved.

A win would propel Gordon, or any of the other remaining 11 Chase drivers, into the Eliminator Round of the Chase -- without having to sweat out the Oct. 25 race at unpredictable Talladega.

"That could possibly be one of the biggest moments I've ever had at Charlotte, if we do that," Gordon said. "You know that, if you get a victory here this weekend, the relief that you're going to feel -- to not have to go to Talladega (and post a top finish), to not even have to worry about Kansas (Oct. 18) -- it's huge. It's absolutely huge.

"Not to mention what I've been saying all year long, if we can make it to Round 3 (Eliminator Round), I think our chances of making it to (the Championship Round at) Homestead are actually very, very good. Not because we've been running spectacularly, but because Martinsville's on the schedule (as the first race of the Eliminator Round).

"Martinsville's a track I feel like we can always go to and have a shot at winning that race. So this is a big weekend for everybody, but it would be monumental -- I guess that's the way to put it -- if we could go to Victory Lane."

Edwards says JGR will be a factor at Homestead

Even though Kevin Harvick showed exceptional speed at New Hampshire and Dover in the second and third races of the Chase's Challenger Round, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards fully expects his organization to be a major player in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"The great thing about our teams right now, focusing on that, is that we just seem to have all the parts together," Edwards said Thursday after opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "We work well as a group, we've got fast pit stops, we're able to overcome things throughout the race and -- knock on wood -- so far we haven't had any big mistakes or failures of parts or anything like that."

All four JGR drivers -- Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin -- advanced to the Contender Round when the Chase field was cut from 16 to 12 at Dover.

"I feel like we have a real strong group and that's why you see all four of the cars in the position they're in points," Edwards said. "If we keep adding a little bit of speed and working, I really believe whoever wins the championship, if it's not a JGR Toyota, they're going to have to beat at least one or two of us at Homestead.

"I really believe that. It just feels real strong right now."

Evernham honored with Smokey Yunick Award

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion crew chief Ray Evernham is the latest recipient of the Smokey Yunick Award, an honor established by the legendary mechanic four years before his death in 2001.

"Just to have your name mentioned in the same sentence as someone like Smokey Yunick is very humbling because there's two guys in the garage area that I know I couldn't hold a candle to mechanically," Evernham said. "One of them is Smokey Yunick. The other is a Leonard Wood.

"Smokey was a true genius and an innovator, not only in the racing world but in the aircraft world and the regular automotive world, and he was a true, true character of our sport."

The award, carried on by Charlotte Motor Speedway after Yunick's death, recognizes individuals who rose from humble beginnings to make significant contributions to the motorsports industry.

Evernham won 47 races and three series titles as Jeff Gordon's crew chief before leaving Hendrick Motorsports to launch his own Dodge team in 2000.