Grapevine: Gordon to Race Against Schumacher

In what may become the ultimate face-off of motor racing, four-time NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon will race against seven-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher this December, in the 2004 Race of Champions Nations Cup in France.

Gordon, considered one of the best NASCAR drivers of modern times, and Schumacher - the most dominant driver in recent F1 history - will race on a special track created inside the Stade de France - one of the largest football stadiums in Paris. They will compete in an F1 car, a Ferrari sports-car, and a World Rally Championship car.

"The fact that he's going to be there is great," Gordon told AP. "I had a chance to meet him earlier this year in Barcelona when I went to the F1 race there. He asked me when I was going to come to F1 and I said as soon as he retired.

"Michael brings a lot of interest to the event. This is definitely an opportunity to go over there and have some fun in a car that's different. The fact that he's over there and I get to go head-to-head against him is going to be awesome, win or lose. I would love to beat him, obviously, but I'm just excited to get to race him."

Gordon drove a Formula One car for the first time last year, when he exchanges his NASCAR car with Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams-BMW in a promotional event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 17th ROC Nations Cup will be held on December 4th. Alongside Gordon and Schumacher, WRC leader Sebastien Loeb has already confirmed his participation, as did F1 drivers Fernando Alonso, Olivier Panis and Nick Heidfeld.