It's a twist on the "casual Friday" phenomenon, with employees allowed to wear blue jeans on the Friday following a Team Valvoline victory in either NASCAR or the NHRA's Powerade draft racing circuit.
There have been 15 such wins by Valvoline drivers already this season.
Team Valvoline has technical partnerships with Roush Fenway Racing and Gillett Evernham Motorsports in NASCAR, along with Don Schumacher Racing, David Powers Motorsports and Tim Wilkerson of Joed-Racing in NHRA.
Their success in 2008 includes five wins in NASCAR -- three for Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards and two for GEM's Kahne, including a win in the Sprint All-Star Race two weeks ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
In the NHRA, Valvoline teams have found the winner's circle 10 times. Don Schumacher Racing has five, led by Tony Schumacher with three wins in Top Fuel. Cory McClenathan has one victory in Top Fuel, while Jack Beckman has one in Funny Car.
David Powers Motorsports has captured three wins in Top Fuel, two by rookie Antron Brown and one by Rod Fuller. Tim Wilkerson of Joed-Racing has two wins in Funny Car.
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MAKING PROGRESS: A career-best 13th-place finish by Sam Hornish Jr. on Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedway has former IndyCar champion right on the heels of Regan Smith in the Sprint Cup rookie race.
Hornish, the top-finishing rookie for the fourth time in 12 races this season, goes to Dover this week trailing Smith by just one point, 117-116, the battle for rookie of the year honors.
"Dover is one of the races we attempted last year," Hornish said. "After 20 laps of practice, we were the first car to qualify and didn't make the race. I like the track and feel that we will have better luck in qualifying for the race this weekend.
"I feel that I have really learned a lot over the past couple of months through testing and racing in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. I think this weekend will go smooth. Our teammates Kurt (Busch) and Ryan (Newman) ran well at Dover last year and I think that will help the entire Penske Racing organization have a successful weekend."
Patrick Carpentier and Dario Franchitti, two other former open-wheel stars, are third and fourth with 81 and 72 points, respectively. Franchitti, recuperating after breaking his left ankle during the Nationwide Series race at Talladega, has driven in only seven Cup races this season.
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CYCLE PREVIEW: American Nicky Hayden, who won the 2006 MotoGP championship, took a short demonstration ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last Sunday, giving the crowd gathered for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 a brief preview of the inaugural Indy motorcycle race set for Sept. 14.
The Kentucky native turned a lap on the 2.5-mile Indy oval at close to 180 mph, despite having no rear brakes and cold front brakes on his Honda. He and the rest of the MotoGP competitors will race on Indy's 2.6-mile road course.
It will be the first motorcycle race at the speedway since 1909, two years before the first Indy 500.
"In the race, we'll be doing 200 here," Hayden said.
As for riding at Indy, Hayden said, "Really, it is a dream come true. Getting to race MotoGP and race motorcycles is enough of a dream come true for me. But to get to race basically in my backyard and be a part of it is awesome.
"And the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I mean, the tradition and history here is second to none. There's not a more famous place to race a motorcycle or car or line up anywhere in the world. So I think it's a big deal, not just for me but also our sport."
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