Motorsports notes: Johnson named best of 2008; Gibbs says match race is “gonna be ugly”

"It's gonna be ugly, " Gibbs said, laughing. "I'm telling you, if Norm thinks he can beat me, it's gonna be ugly. . . . I'll try not to rough him up -- unless he gets in front of me."

Miller suggested he get a head start since at 70 he is two years older than Gibbs. That didn't sit well with Gibbs.

"Coaches age faster," he said, "seven years for every one year of coaching. I'm not going to give Norm any advantage."

The racing card starts at 7:30 Friday. Coliseum doors open at 6:30, with an autograph session before the match race. Visit the Arena Racing Web site -- http://www.arenaracingusa.com -- for more information.

"What I was talking about doing is just buying up some tickets at every race and giving them away to get more people to go to these races," Hamlin said. "It's going to be important for us to get back in touch with the guy that travels week-in and week-out in his motor home to the races."