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CUP: Gordon Exploring Ownership Of Land In Texas
Written by: John Sturbin   
11/07/2009
Fort Worth, TX
 
Jeff Gordon is currently third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race. (Photo: Getty Images) ยป More Photos

Jeff Gordon's comfort level has grown exponentially during the last calendar year at Texas Motor Speedway, a personal purgatory for much of his stellar Sprint Cup Series career.

Gordon qualified on-pole Friday afternoon for Sunday’s Dickies 500, extending a streak that has seen him claim at least one Coors Light Pole Award for 17 consecutive seasons. Gordon toured TMS’ 1.5-mile quadoval in 28.255-seconds/191.117 mph to capture his 68th career pole and add to an impressive run of recent numbers here.

Gordon qualified first and finished second in last November’s Dickies 500, won by Carl Edwards . Gordon qualified second and went on to win the Samsung 500 here in April, scoring his first Cup victory in Texas in his 17th career start. The difference, Sir Jeff said, is just hard work.

“I would hardly say we own the place,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Impala SS. “But you know, I think that we really didn’t get enough credit for the first three or four races here. We were the best car at just about every one of those races (1997-99) and we just had crazy weird things happen to us. Those are sometimes things you can’t control.
But it just started a trend of not good results and they just continued.”

A four-time series champion, Gordon will share the front row with Kasey Kahne, who qualified the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger at 28.276-seconds/190.975 mph. Series points-leader Jimmie Johnson, who is bearing down on a record fourth consecutive championship, will start 12th after a hot lap of 28.442-seconds/189.860 mph in the No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevy.

Gordon trails Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and protégé, by 192 points with three races remaining. Mark Martin, also of HMS, is second and trails Johnson by 184 points. Despite the long odds of catching Johnson, Gordon said he and crew chief Steve Letarte have not been mailing-anything-in.

“We were working hard (for poles) every weekend. And you know we’ve been very close,” said Gordon, whose win at TMS is his only one of the season to-date. “There were times when I really felt we had a pole. And it’s like a win, you know? You hope you get it early and accomplish it and get it out of the way so you don’t have to think and worry about it and it doesn’t build; especially when you’ve done it 16 years in a row.


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