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CUP: Johnson, Gordon Ready To Rebound
Written by:
Tom Jensen
03/25/2008 - 05:13 AM
Harrisburg, N.C.
Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Dupont Chevrolet, leads Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, during the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) ยป More Photos
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the 2008 season, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon will be looking to get untracked this week at Martinsville Speedway, a facility where the two drivers have dominated in recent years.
Johnson, the two-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, has three consecutive Martinsville victories and four overall, while Gordon leads the active drivers at the 0.526-mile track with seven victories.
How superior have Johnson and Gordon been at Martinsville? The only other driver entered in Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 who has more than one victory at the Southern Virginia track is Tony Stewart, who has two race wins there.
In the last 10 Martinsville races, Gordon has four victories, nine top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, while Johnson has four victories, eight top fives and 10 top 10s. Gordon also has six Martinsville poles, tops among active drivers.
In last year’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500, Gordon hounded Johnson relentlessly over the last 20 laps, before finishing 0.065 seconds behind him, while in the fall race, Gordon ended
And while Johnson and Gordon finished first and second in last year’s Sprint Cup points race, they’re both off to slow starts this season. The two finished second and third, respectively, in the second race of the year at Southern California, but that so far has been Johnson’s only top-10 finish of 2008.
Gordon added a fifth-place finish at Atlanta, but neither driver has flashed the kind of form they had last year, when Johnson won 10 races and Gordon took six more. As of now, Johnson is 13th in Sprint Cup points and Gordon is 14th.
Of course, they’re hoping – and expecting – things will change this weekend in Martinsville.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.
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