DECEMBER 3, 2004

Gordon drops out of Race of Champions

NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon spent Wednesday night in the hospital with flu-like symptoms and he has had to call off his trip to Paris to go head-to-head with Michael Schumacher in the Race of Champions. A replacement for Gordon is expected to be named today. Gordon and Johnson have been in New York this week to promote the NASCAR awards ceremony and were scheduled to leave for France after the ceremony on Friday night but Gordon missed out on events on Thursday, including a display in Times Square.

Jimmie Johnson will still be there and says that he is out to prove himself to a European racing establishment largely sceptical about US drivers.