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DOVER, Del. - It took an off-the-cuff reference to a serial murderer/cannibal to punctuate the Robby Gordon storyline.
Gordon has been vilified by his peers and put on probation by team owner Richard Childress for intentionally bumping Greg Biffle last week at New Hampshire, starting an accident that did serious harm to the cars and title hopes of Chase for the Championship drivers Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield.
Ryan Newman, who apparently was groggy during a morning news conference, was asked if it is fair that Gordon - an accomplished road and open-wheel racer - might be remembered more for his actions at New Hampshire.
"I don't know that he'll be remembered as that, but everybody's got to have a reputation," Newman said. "There's always going to be a Jeffrey Dahmer. I'm not referring to Robby as that, but there's always those kinds of people in the world, whether it's in racing ... that's the first name that came to my mind. Let it be known that was at 8:43.
"My point is there's all different kinds of people and all different kinds of drivers. Robby has definitely got a lot of talent. He admitted he lost his cool, and that's the bottom line. I don't think he's going to be remembered as the guy that took out Jeremy Mayfield at Loudon in 2004. He's a great road racer. That's how I think of him."
Enough said. Seriously.
NEW ATTITUDE: Elliott Sadler, who starts fourth today at Dover International Speedway and who is sixth in the standings, hopes people keep talking about his shortcomings at the 1-mile track. He has finished 18th or worse in his past four Dover starts.
"You know what's funny about that? People said the same thing before we went to Indy and we finished third, and they said the same thing before we went to California and we won the race," he said. "So I hope everyone keeps talking like that this weekend. There have been a lot of tracks that we haven't run good at in the past, but that's why it's in the past."
KEEPING TRACK: International Speedway Corp. is expected to announce Monday that it will attempt to purchase 600 acres of rural land in Snohomish County, north of Seattle, and build a 75,000-seat race track, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
SPARK PLUGS: Ward Burton's No. 0 Chevrolet posted the top time in the final practice (23.387 seconds, 153.932 mph). Kurt Busch (tied for first in the standings) and Tony Stewart (eighth) were the only championship contenders to run more than 10 laps. Busch's team was unhappy with the No. 97 Ford despite having the 12th-best time and ran 12. Stewart was 27th on the speed chart and turned 23 in the No.20 Chevrolet. ... Kasey Kahne needs five top fives in nine races to beat Newman's record for rookies. Kahne has five in his past eight races. He trails Newman (14 in 2002), Stewart (12 in 1999), and Dale Earnhardt (11 in 1979). ... Dave Blaney practiced in the No. 99 Ford because regular driver Carl Edwards was in Las Vegas preparing for his truck series start.