Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Auto Club The Place For Gordon
Jeff Gordon has a series-high seven runner-up finishes this season...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 08, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Jeff Gordon is seventh in the NASCAR Chase For The Sprint Cup headed into the Auto Club Speedway Pepsi 500. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

If you’re the gambling sort, put your money on Jeff Gordon to place this weekend in the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.

In February, Gordon finished second in the first visit by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to the 2-mile Southern California oval. And then he finished twice in both races at Michigan International Speedway, the track Roger Penske used as a model when he designed ACS in the mid-1990s.

In fairness to Gordon, he also has four other runner-up finishes in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS, including last weekend at Kansas Speedway. And that means his odds of finishing second in any given race this season are about one in four. That said, ACS is a track he enjoys and has had much success at in the past, with three victories and four top-five finishes in his last six races.

If Gordon is to finally earn the fifth championship he’s been hunting since 2002, this should be a race that helps him get there. At least that’s what he’s counting on.

And, oh by the way, he’s far from satisfied with all the second-place runs. He wants to win.

“We’ve improved a lot on these types of tracks since last year,” said Gordon. “And we had a great run here earlier this year, but we feel like we let that one slip away. Hopefully, we can get that one back this weekend.”

At the moment, Gordon is seventh in points, 103 behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin. That is not an insurmountable margin, certainly, but there are two key factors Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte need to concern themselves with. The first is the simple crowd of drivers ahead of him. To win a fifth championship, Gordon is likely going to need all six of those guys in front of him to have at least one truly wretched race.


Page 1 of 2
Prev
12
Next
tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.