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Monthly Column: One For The Road
You Get What You Need BLAKESLEE, PA. (August 4) - - Jeff Gordon's 10th place effort in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway was far from the finish he wanted. But considering he ran out of fuel on the final lap and coasted to the finish line, it was a finish he needed. Barring a major collapse in the next five weeks, Gordon will easily qualify for the chase for the championship. However, his team still has work to do before he can challenge for the championship. Gordon started 4th at Pocono and moved to 3rd in the opening laps. However, handling issues precluded his drive forward and he slipped to 7th at the competition caution on lap 21. A two-tire change moved him to 3rd, but he could not hold the spot. A four-tire change on lap 66 put him back in traffic, but a two-tire change on lap 87 moved him to 2nd place. He briefly challenged Jimmie Johnson for the lead before falling back. He ran in the top-five for the next 50 laps. Rain showers on lap 128 brought Gordon to pit road. Since 19 drivers stayed on the track, he restarted in 23rd after a red flag track-drying delay. He moved to 20th at the outset, but handling issues dropped him to 24th place on lap 150. Gordon pitted for the final time under green with 34 laps to go-- putting him right at his fuel window. As the drivers came in for fuel, Gordon moved up to 10th and coasted to the finish line with an empty fuel tank. <<JG Friday press conference
Racing In Name Only SPEEDWAY, IN. (July 28) - - The record books will show Jimmie Johnson scored the victory in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Decades from now it will be viewed as an impressive accomplishment that Johnson led the most laps, beat the field off pit road with 9 laps to go, and won at the famed track for the second time in the last three years. But for those who watched the debacle known as the Brickyard 400, it was anything but a "race." The tires wore extensively on the racing surface due to the heavier "Car of Tomorrow" race car. To combat blown tires, NASCAR waved the caution flag every 10-12 laps to allow the teams to change tires. In fact, the longest green flag run of the race was a mere 12 laps. The event became a pit road race as the teams came to the pit lane 11 times in front of perhaps the smallest Brickyard 400 crowd of NASCAR's 15-year history at the track. On the final restart, Johnson pulled ahead of Carl Edwards and easily claimed the victory. Jeff Gordon had a survivable 5th place finish-- exactly where he started. In between caution flags, Gordon was able to move through traffic with relative ease. He took the lead on lap 25 before relinquishing the top spot on pit road. Gordon re-assumed the lead on lap 36 before eventual winner Johnson passed one lap later. Crew chief Steve Letarte opted to change four tires every time Gordon came to pit road. The decision often cost him spots on the racetrack to drivers who opted for only right side tires. He made several charges through traffic, but invariably lost spots during cautions due to the tire strategy. With 30 laps to go, Gordon came onto pit road in 4th place. A four-tire change pushed him back to 14th on the restart, thus ending his slim hopes of a victory. He did manage to work his way up to 8th at the final competition caution with 10 laps to go. Letarte then followed the pack by changing two tires. Gordon restarted 6th and passed Jamie McMurray on the final lap to score his first top-5 on an oval track since Dover in early-June. In the news: Q&A with Jeff Gordon- July 25
Records In Peril JOLIET, IL. (July 13) - - Ten years ago, Jeff Gordon tied a modern-era NASCAR record with 13 victories. No driver has won more than 10 races in a season since then. However, Kyle Busch scored his 7th victory as the series passed the halfway point. Gordon knows what it's like to pull into victory lane nearly every week -- even when he doesn't have the best car. "It's crazy," he said. "You're going along there and you've got a strong car and a strong team and you're feeling like you’re doing a good job. You're winning races that you feel like you as a team really worked hard for and earned. But then you start winning races that you felt like you shouldn't have won and it just kind of boggles your mind. That's kind of the way I've seen those guys. They're strong, they're very good, they've done a great job, and they've put themselves in position to win races. Some people have just given the races away. But for the most part, they've earned everyone of them; and they're tough. It's everybody’s goal out there to try to break the momentum they have. Nobody's been able to do it yet."
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