Bobby Labonte says the drivers of NASCAR have the same drive as Olympians like Hannah Teter (L) and Gretchen Bleiler(R)(Photo: Rusty Jarrett, Getty Images) » More Photos

GOING FOR THE GOLD With the Olympics set to open Friday in Beijing, China, NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte said the athletes and the NASCAR racers have a lot in common when it comes to inner drive.
“We share the same determination and will to win,” said Labonte. “Most of these Olympics athletes have worked their whole lives to prepare for the games. They’ve made huge sacrifices and spent countless hours training to perform their best. If you look around the Sprint Cup garage, and guys like Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and many others, they have worked their whole lives to win at this level.”

SOLDIER’S STORY Aric Almirola returns to NASCAR Sprint Cup racing this weekend after a four-race absence. Almirola, who is splitting times with Mark Martin this season in the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Impala SS, will drive the car in the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International. Almirola also will be behind the wheel of the U.S. Army-sponsored car in three of the next four races and take over the seat full time in 2009.

“Once I started to get a hang of racing on a road course I actually started to like it,” said Almirola, who finished 28th on the Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma, Calif. in June. “The goal for Watkins Glen will be the same as in Sonoma — to keep all four tires on the pavement and get the best finish possible in the soldiers' car.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to