posted 11-12-2006 05:07 PM               

For this astronaut, NASCAR is really far out

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If Doug Hurley had his way, the Space Shuttle probably would be painted bright orange with black trim and a huge No. 20 on the side when he makes his first trip into space in the next few years.

Hurley, named by NASA as an astronaut pilot in July 2000, is the cousin of Greg Zipadelli's wife, Nan. The family connection sparked Hurley's interest in NASCAR in general, and in the efforts of Zipadelli and his driver, Tony Stewart, in particular.

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Ask Dick Gordon who the best astronaut he ever knew was, and you'll get a pretty simple answer.

Dick Gordon.

He would've been an awesome race car driver. Gordon became the fourth American to walk in space during the September 1966 Gemini 11 mission and was the command module pilot on Apollo 12 during its voyage to the moon in November 1969. His first race was the Firecracker 400 at Daytona in the 1960s, and he's been a fan of the sport ever since.

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