Gordon

	Johnson

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Jeff Gordon dominated the race at Michigan International Speedway a year ago, proving to be nearly untouchable in a strong Chevrolet.

His Monte Carlo led 143 of the 200 laps and proved to be a good car later in the year when he drove it to victory in Indianapolis. But he won't be behind the wheel of the car in the Sirius Satellite Radio 400 on Sunday -- Gordon turned the Chevy over to rookie teammate Jimmie Johnson and won't ask for it back.

"I guess if I was really struggling and I wanted it back, I probably could,'' Gordon said. "Usually what you win with one year isn't going to be enough the second year. Usually you've got to have something better.''

But that car has proven to be good this year -- Johnson drove it to victory in California -- and he qualified 14th in it for Sunday's race.

It raises questions why Johnson is getting all of Gordon's old equipment -- driving it to a pair of wins and second place in the Winston Cup standings -- while Gordon is still looking for his first victory of the season.

The four-time series champion has not won in 22 races, leaving some wondering why he doesn't take his cars back from Johnson, his protege at Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon starts 24th -- his worst starting position ever at Michigan.

Robbie Loomis, Gordon's crew chief, said Johnson needed good cars at the start of the year because he didn't have any points to fall back on if he failed to qualify for events. So by giving him Gordon's stuff, everyone was certain he would be fast enough to make the fields.

Loomis then built Gordon a new fleet of cars, which the No. 24 team is still trying to get into Victory Lane.

"They (Johnson's team) have really done a great job at some of the setups they put underneath their cars to make them fast,'' Gordon said. "We know what they are. Some of the things that we've learned from them, we can apply now.''

Working the garage
Jerry Nadeau, still looking for steady work since his release last month from Hendrick Motorsports, spent much of Friday and Saturday walking the garage while talking to car owners about potential rides.

"I'm glad I'm here this weekend, it helps to keep your contacts and keep your face out here,'' he said. "If you're here, it makes it a lot easier to talk to people about opportunities they might have in the future.''

Nadeau did a three-race stint as a replacement driver while Johnny Benson sat out with an injury, and said he's scheduled to go to California next week to drive the No. 44 Dodge for Petty Enterprises as a one-race substitute for Steve Grissom.

The only other thing he has lined up is driving in a car that Michael Waltrip owns next month at Chicago.<

Red Wings tribute
Five-time Michigan winner Rusty Wallace is paying tribute to the Detroit Red Wings this weekend by placing the logo of the new Stanley Cup champions on his car.

Wallace's No. 2 Ford will have the Red Wings logo on the lower quarter-panels of his car during Sunday's race.

"The Red Wings took their third Stanley Cup in Game 5 in Detroit and we want to salute them for a job well done,'' Wallace said of Thursday's Cup clincher. "We're hoping that we can put their logo in Victory Lane on Sunday. Now that would really be a cool deal.''

Wallace, winless so far this season, starts 25th.<

Most eligible
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will appear in People magazine's "Most Eligible Bachelors'' edition, which goes on sale at newsstands this week.

The special edition of the magazine is one of the most visible and widely distributed publications of the year, and Earnhardt's selection was kept confidential until this week.

It marks Earnhardt's sixth appearance in People. His first was in October 2000, when he was selected to appear in the ``Sexiest Men'' issue.