Gordon, Earnhardt say differences overblown

Jeff Gordon expressed disappointment during last week's race at Talladega that Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. had not chosen to work with Gordon and had instead gone his own way.

Both yesterday went out of their way to say everything was fine between them and the whole thing had been a misunderstanding.

"I feel like it's a non-issue," Gordon said. "You're going to make decisions; sometimes you're going to work with your teammates and sometimes you're not.

"I think we did [learn about each other]. We just had a big sit-down and an understanding, going forward, how we're going to be drafting and working together on the racetrack."

The conflict arose with around 25 laps remaining. Earnhardt said he was behind Ryan Newman when David Ragan cut up in front of them to see if Earnhardt and Newman would give him a push. Instead, Newman moved out of line and Earnhardt went with him. Gordon stayed with Ragan, whom Earnhardt said was running about 10 mph slower at the time.

"It would have done us a lot of good to have sat down before the race at any point this year to discuss our morals and our choices in restrictor-plate racing and what we believed to be fair, what we believed to be right, and what we believed to be wrong," Earnhardt said. "[That way] everybody has a better understanding of what to expect from each other, [and] there's really no real disappointments."

Franchitti looking forward to return

Dario Franchitti got off his crutches last Monday, and doctors gave him what should be considered a positive diagnosis. "I'm very lucky," Franchitti said. "There's a lot of bruising and stuff, but there's no displacement and there's a very small fracture so we should be good to get back in the car pretty quick."

Franchitti said he has not been given an expected return date, saying it's up to him and when he feels comfortable in the car. He's going to Indianapolis to be fitted for a carbon fiber brace Monday that should aid his return.

Lowry calls his honor 'unbelievable' thing

Dan Lowry of New Waterford, Ohio, is the namesake for tonight's Sprint Cup race at RIR after winning a Crown Royal contest.

He's been paraded around the track, dressed in the brand's purple and gold, and said the experience is one he's not likely to forget.

"It's just unbelievable," Lowry said. "It's something like out of a storybook. It's just an unbelievable experience to see your name all over everything and the way they treat you."

Lowry has been sharing the weekend with Jamie McMurray, who was Lowry's favorite driver before the contest as well.

Junior fans give old car brand new paint job

When Joe and Gayla Wilkinson heard about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s impending move to Hendrick Motorsports last year, they knew they really only had one choice: repaint their car. Their Chevy Monte Carlo with Earnhardt's old, red Budweiser scheme just wasn't going to do.

So the Wilkinsons of Belpre, Ohio -- featured in the fall in the Times-Dispatch -- took both of their Chevys and redid them to match Earnhardt's paint jobs with his two primary sponsors, Amp and the National Guard.

"I never had a doubt in my mind that I wasn't going to change it," Joe Wilkinson said yesterday. "Whatever Junior was going with, that's what I was going with."

The green Amp car was finished first; Wilkinson said it took a month from start to finish. He even took the car to JR Motorsports in Statesville, N.C., and had the machine signed by Earnhardt, crew chief Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt's sister Kelley Elledge and several employees of JR Motorsports.

That car was featured in an Amp commercial that's available on YouTube and on Amp's Web site.

The blue National Guard car was finished just in time for this weekend and features headrests embroidered with Earnhardt's No. 88.

Hold noise-makers for Kyle Busch's birthday

Kyle Busch turned 23 yesterday. He also turned practice laps that left him in anything but a party-boy mood."I wish our cars were better," he said. "We're struggling a little bit on the Nationwide side and struggling a little bit [in his Sprint Cup car] it seems like . . . Hopefully, the struggles go away."

With five top-fives (but no wins) in six starts at RIR, Busch usually can count on a smooth night here. But he's with a new team (Gibbs Racing) and a different manufacturer (Toyota instead of Chevy), and yesterday presented him with hurdles. In that, he wasn't alone."The car is a little different because we've been learning things," Busch said. "The track is a little different because it's been giving up grip, and the tire's different because they brought a different tire here."

Montoya enters uncharted waters

While Juan Pablo Montoya is doing his best to downplay it, the standings will show that he enters tonight's race in the top 12 in points -- the cutoff position for the Chase for the Sprint Cup -- for the first time in his NASCAR career. Montoya is coming off a runner-up finish at Talladega last weekend (with new crew chief Jimmy Elledge), but his next-best finish is 13th at Martinsville.

Bid early, bid often

The Hermie and Elliott Sadler Chritable Foundation is auctioning the specially designed Autism Awareness helmet Elliott Sadler wore during April's races. The auction -- which can be found at www.sadlerfoundation.org -- ends May 19. "It's going great," Elliott Sadler said. "I'm proud of the race fans and the people bidding on it. All the money is going to charity, and that makes me feel pretty special because of all the fans that are getting involved." As of yesterday evening, the high bid was $4,100.

Wood fails to qualify

Jon Wood, a Stuart native, failed to qualify for his third career Sprint Cup race. Wood's speed of 121.578 was the slowest of the 47 cars attempting to make the 43-car field.

Wood, who finished 36th in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega last Sunday, couldn't generate enough speed in the corners on the .75-mile track. He qualified 12th in the No. 21 Ford at Talladega. -- Jill Erwin, Brian Hunsicker, Bob Lipper, Steve Trosky, Ralph N. Paulk, Shawn Fenner