Hey, Gordon doubters: this laugh's on you : it's too early to start fretting about drivers, especially a four-time champion

Sporting News, The, April 22, 2005 by Lee Spencer

The Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup format allows just 26 races to determine a driver's fate, so teams can't afford to wallow near the bottom of the standings. But as much as everyone wants to stay high in the standings, it's still way too early, after six races, to conclude any team might be out of it.

Which is why I found it ironic that before qualifying last weekend at Martinsville reporters asked Jeff Gordon whether he was concerned about being 12th in points.

Excuse me. Have you people lost your minds?

Those questions seemed especially silly after Gordon won on Sunday, overcoming a bad qualifying effort and battling back from three laps down.

Not only are we talking about the only four-time champion currently in the field, we're talking about the most purely talented and versatile racer to compete at the Cup level since David Pearson retired.

Gordon is the first nonlegacy Cup driver who was raised to race. His stats are proof: 71 wins in 407 career starts. That's one win for every 5.7 starts. He has won at every track on the circuit except Texas, Phoenix and Chicago.

"We've won a race and led laps, and those things are more important to me than where we are in the points right now," Gordon said. Now he can say he has won twice, the other victory being the Daytona 500.

"I have a strong team and good cars, and those are the things that are going to move you up in the points," Gordon says.

The victory Sunday moved him from 12th to sixth. Gordon was 12th after six races last year, and by the end of the season, he would have won the title under the old points system. Under the Chase format, he finished third, 16 points behind champion Kurt Busch.

The bottom line: Gordon has to be in the top 10 after the September Richmond race, 20 races from now. Over the same period of races last year, he climbed to first.

Considering the strength of Hendrick Motorsports and the solidarity of the No. 24 team, you would have to be crazy to bet against Gordon. Especially after Martinsville.

speedreads

NASCAR's impound rule is most detrimental to the young drivers. The absence of Happy Hour practice cuts into the seat time of drivers who don't have a lot of experience driving Cup cars. They have less time to dial in comfortable setups.

Todd Braun, owner of Shane Hmiel's Busch team, is an idiot if he appeals the penalties assessed to Hmiel after he flashed an obscene gesture at Dale Jarrett at Bristol. Braun should let the publicity die out and concentrate on racing.

INSIDE DISH

When NASCAR mandates a common engine, expect one organization per manufacturer to get the contract. Ford Racing Engines already has its house in order with the joint program of Robert Yates Racing and Roush Racing. Considering Hendrick Motorsports already supplies engines for eight Cup teams, it will likely get the nod for General Motors.

Evernham Motorsports is the Dodge mainstay and is expected to add a third car, with Brendan Gaughan, next season. Will Bill Davis Racing still build the Toyota engines? Doubtful. Chip Ganassi, who already sports Toyotas in the Indy Racing League, is building a 33,000-square-foot engine shop that is expected to be running by November 1. Ganassi wouldn't make that investment if he weren't sure of a return. > Speaking of Ganassi, one of his drivers, Sterling Marlin, says the team owner won't call him back about the status of Marlin's No. 40 car next season. "My contract is up after this year," Marlin says. "I guess you've got to make a change sometimes, but I'd like to know something soon so I can start looking." Marlin says a team was willing to buy out his contract last year, but he remained loyal to Ganassi. Multiple sources at Ganassi say Busch Series regular David Stremme will get the ride over Reed Sorenson because Sorenson is under 21 and the car's sponsor is Coors Light. > Ryan Newman was expected to test tires this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But Indy teams canceled their tests because of the poor condition of the track, so Goodyear called off its test as well. > Defending Texas winner Elliott Sadler is pumped about returning to the track, especially because of the horsepower and aerodynamic improvements Robert Yates Racing has made over the past year. "We're taking the same car with a different body," Sadler says. "But we also have a new car that has really good balance." Sadler says RYR still has to catch up to Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing, but he thinks his test at Texas will pay off. > Scott Riggs is the early favorite for Nextel Cup's most improved driver. In six races this season, he has more top 10 finishes (three) than he had all of last season (two). "We've found 20 guys to fit together like a puzzle where last year we had six," Riggs says. "That's what you need to be competitive. This feels like a real team." After winning his first career pole, Riggs settled for 21st at Martinsville. > Former Hendrick Motorsports chassis director Eddie Dickerson will interview with Dale Earnhardt Inc. this week. DEI is starting an in-house chassis program, and Dickerson could use his magic to develop better-handling cars for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who complains about the drivability of his cars. > Is anyone else surprised that neither Rusty Wallace nor Newman, teammates for Penske, finished in the top five this season until Martinsville? > Roush Racing is negotiating with Speed Channel to turn its Gong Show--the name given to Roush's tryout competition for a fide in the truck series--into reality TV. The program would appear at the end of May.

Travis Kvapil has been a quick study under Rusty Wallace. Sharing setups with Wallace's No. 2 car, Kvapil last week was the highest qualifying rookie for the fourth consecutive race, but with 10 laps to go his engine blew. Testing should further accelerate Kvapil's development. He has tested at Rockingham and Darlington and was scheduled to test this week at Phoenix before Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway. Next week, he'll make his inaugural visit to Sonoma for a little Road Course 101.

TSN's POWER POLL

             1. Jimmie Johnson
  [up arrow] 2. Jeff Gordon
             3. Elliott Sadler His second
                career top 10 in 13 starts at
                Martinsville planted Sadler
                securely in the top five in points.
                Sadler has immense talent, but
                much of the credit has to go to
                his pit crew, one of the best in
                the garage.
             4. Mark Marlin
             5. Greg Biffle
[down arrow] 6. Tony Stewart
             7. Kurt Busch
             8. Ryan Newman
             9. Rusty Wallace
            10. Dale Jarrett

LEE SPENCER

lspencer@sportingnews.com