BROOKLYN, Mich.  (August 10, 2010) -  Hmmmm. What kind of present do you give a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who has just celebrated a birthday - and a birth day - within a week. How about a trip to his favorite track?
     Jeff Gordon, who celebrated his birthday on August 4, welcomed Leo Benjamin Gordon into the world on Monday. He will spend a few days with wife Ingrid Vandebosch, daughter Ella, his newborn son and extended family before this weekend's race.
     "He's happy and healthy, and Mom is doing great," Gordon said in a post on www.jeffgordon.com.
     By Friday when he straps into the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Impala, Gordon's full attention will turn to what may be his favorite track on the circuit, Michigan International Speedway (MIS) - site of Sunday's CARFAX 400. While his two wins here do not come close to the seven victories Gordon has claimed at each Darlington Raceway and Martinsville Speedway, Michigan is always mentioned by the 82-time winner when asked which is his favorite track.
     "I love coming to this race track," said Gordon, who is second in the standings with four races to go before the 12-driver "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" field is set. "Whether it's on a double-file restart late in the race or just racing one guy ahead of you, there are a lot of places to go here.
     "Because we can get fanned out and run multiple grooves in the corners and down the straightaways, that makes this one of the best tracks we race on in my opinion."
     Along with two wins here in his NASCAR Cup championship years of 1998 and 2001, Gordon has five poles, 18 top-fives and 23 top-10's. In his last three starts here, he has two runner-up finishes and a fourth-place finish in June.
     "We've run well here recently," said Gordon. "Those two second-place finishes were fuel-mileage races, but I think we were a top-five car in both.
     "In June, we were a top-five car again but we just didn't really have enough to battle for the win. I don't think we were too far off, so hopefully we can make those gains and battle for the win on Sunday."
     With victory being a belated birthday present?