This Saturday's EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway will be especially significant for Tina Gordon and her entire ThorSport Racing No. 13 crew.  This will be the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Atlanta and Gordon's first race there since her ARCA days as well.  Back in 2002, Gordon qualified 10th in the ARCA race and finished 8th.

Racing in Atlanta will be a bit of a homecoming for Gordon and her sponsors.  This week, the No. 13 Vassarette/Microtel Chevy Silverado will be racing in the home town of both Vassarette and Microtel Inns and Suites.  Gordon is also a Georgia native and went to high school in Armurchee.  "Racing in Atlanta for the first time since my ARCA days is going to be a great experience for me", said Gordon.  "I think the fact that both of my primary sponsors are based out of Atlanta will make it that much more special and we plan on having a really good run this week."  Both Vassarette and Microtel plan to have large groups at the track to cheer Tina on this week. 

The media buzz leading up to this week's race has been exciting for Gordon.  She appeared live on Friday along with three models from Vassarette on "Fox and Friends", a national morning news show on the Fox News Channel that airs from New York City.  "Being on 'Fox and Friends' was great", said Gordon.  "The three hosts of that show are so much fun and they really seemed to have as good a time as I did."  During her trip, Gordon also got to take her first ride on a New York subway and had a very moving experience visiting "Ground Zero".

Gordon is scheduled to appear this Wednesday morning on Fox 5's "Good Day Atlanta" and is also one of the scheduled drivers for the 2nd Annual Atlanta Rally for Racing with Governor Sonny Perdue.  Qualifying for the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 is scheduled for Friday at 1:30 p.m. with the race to follow on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.