Expect Gordon to make a wonderful run: give up on Jeff Gordon? Not me

Sporting News, The, August 19, 2005 by Lee Spencer

As Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s hopes of gaining a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup evaporated in a wreck Sunday at Indianapolis, Jeff Gordon's chances grew when he finished ahead of all six drivers he was battling for the final two spots.

It's hard to believe it has been almost a decade since Gordon won his first of four Cup championships. It's also hard to believe that the driver once known as Wonder Boy turned 34 last week. But what's blowing the minds of many race fans is Gordon's 14th-place position in the standings, 523 points out of first and 87 points out of the final spot in The Chase.

In 12 full seasons on the tour, the only time Gordon missed a top 10 finish was 1993, when he was the Rookie of the Year. That's a dozen consecutive trips to the stage of the Waldorf-Astoria at the championship banquet.

This year will be no different. Gordon's natural driving ability is second to none in NASCAR, and he is in his prime. There's little to stop him from adding to his 72 victories and 54 poles.

"You go along thinking we had this or that happen or we had a bad weekend," Gordon says. "You don't panic. But when it adds up week after week after week, you say we've got to get ourselves together here--or not let these bad races affect your confidence and make things even worse. We readjusted our test schedule. We looked at a lot more notes in greater detail."

Yes, there is a game plan. Gordon has won at each of the five tracks that remain before the Chase begins. Certainly, he can turn things around Sunday at Watkins Glen, a road course where he leads all drivers with four wins. He had transmission problems this season at the other Cup road course, Sonoma, and Gordon says the team is "getting back to basics" by returning to a standard gearbox that the team relied on three years ago. "It will give up speed, but we'll gain reliability," he adds. Gordon is savvy enough to know that a team must walk before it can run.

Despite having won two races at Michigan, Gordon says, "We stunk there" in June. That's why the team planned to test there this week.

Bristol? Gordon has five victories and four poles at Bristol, considered by some to be the most treacherous track on the circuit. Still, the team will test there later this month.

When the tour swings out to California Speedway, Gordon's confidence will be high. He has won three of the 10 races in front of his home-state crowd.

Finally, there's the regular-season finale, at Richmond, the make-or-break race for drivers on the bubble. Although Gordon has two victories and leads all current drivers with four poles there, the team still will burn a test.

Sure, it's unlikely that Gordon will add a fifth Cup trophy to the case this year, but this much is certain: He has a chance--and he will never give up.

Tony Stewart has won four of the past six races, but the effect of winning in front of a home-state crowd at Indianapolis goes beyond thrusting the No. 20 team into the points lead. There's little doubt that winning at Indy will propel Stewart to his second Cup title. "We've found some things that are really working for us now, and that puts the pressure on everyone else to catch up with us," Stewart says. He has a 75-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, who was transported to a hospital for observation after he took a vicious hit when he cut a tire.

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