tom_jensen's avatar
Author:
Tom Jensen
 
Rate this article:
  • 0/5 Stars
  • Related Photos
  • Related Videos
SPEEDtv.com Store
Check Out the New NASCAR on SPEED Online Store
Enter Code 10SPEED at checkout for an additional 10% discount (including clearance items).
Our Price: Visit the Store
Visit Button
Buy Button
DVD: David Jefferies Story
The David Jefferies Story is a reminder of the much loved and much missed Yorkshireman.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Man-Made Thunder
The book examines the sport of stock car racing through the eyes and ears of the men behind the wheel and the wrenches.
Our Price: $49.00
Visit Button
Buy Button
Unisex Sandwich Cap
Unisex Velcro back hat with SPEED logo on front. PINKS logo embroidered on left and PAO logo on right. One size fits all.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Speedway T-shirt
Men's 6 oz. 100% Cotton Jersey Short Sleeve Tee. SPEED logo imprinted on the front center chest.
Our Price: $24.99
Visit Button
Buy Button
Footer Bg
  • Zoom More Photos Button
  • Camera Icon
CUP: Q&A - Jeff Gordon
Written by: Tom Jensen   
09/30/2009
Charlotte, NC
 
Jeff Gordon is looking for a strong run at Kansas to help him up from eighth place in the standings closer to his teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, the current Sprint Cup points leaders. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

By his own admission, Jeff Gordon’s “Drive for Five” hasn’t gotten off to quite the start that he had hoped for, but Gordon is still optimistic about what the Chase for the Sprint Cup holds.

One of the reasons for Gordon’s enthusiasm is that this week’s Chase race will be at Kansas Speedway, a track where he is a two-time winner. Gordon is hoping another strong run in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will move him up from eighth place and closer to his teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, the current Sprint Cup points leaders.

Gordon was a guest on this week’s NASCAR teleconference. Excerpts follow.

What are your chances of winning one of the upcoming Chase races starting with week at Kansas where you won a couple of times?

I think our chances are really good. I've been really excited about the mile and a halfs in the final 10 races in the Chase. I feel like that's something that we have really done a great job with improving from last season, and I feel like that's where this championship can really get turned around for us in the DuPont Chevrolet. We haven't had the best start especially compared to our teammates. But this last week in Dover was certainly a good performance. Didn't get the finish we were hoping for but I feel in Kansas, we are very capable of getting that win that we need to really move ourselves up to where we need to be to battle for this championship so hopefully we can pull that off.

How does it wear on you like at Dover being up in possible position to win and slipping back, and then having those two teammates out of the same stable who are able to stay up there and win races and finish second?

Well, I mean, doesn't really matter if it's your teammate or not, when you've had the kind of year that we've had with the DuPont Chevrolet and we've been competitive and we've been consistent and it all comes down to those final 10 races in the Chase as to whether you're going to win the championship or not, and the first two don't go the way you'd like them to and you could get beat by anybody, and then your teammates are up there winning the first two races.

It's frustrating that we are not living up to our full potential, but at the same time, we are only two races in. It's not something that we are really overthinking or spending too much time on, we certainly are working hard and we have had some things that haven't gone our way.

What do you got to have this week?

Well, we have got to live up to our full potential. We were second, third place car last week at Dover. We didn't finish there, so Jimmie and the 48 team, by far, they had the best car, the best team, and they won the race. So you have got to get your absolute best, and we haven't done that the first two races.

You know, 10 races is a lot of laps. It's a lot of points that can be lost and gained. There's going to be a lot more drama over these next eight, and all we can do is go and get our absolute best. … But you really have to be in the top three, I believe, to be able to be a winning car, and that's where we have got to put ourselves in position for.

After winning four championships in seven years, did you ever think it would take this long to win another one, and why do you think it has taken this long?

Well, I never thought I would win four championships or three, two, or one. I mean, I just never thought I could come into this level of competition and you know, I remember when I signed with Hendrick, I had people doubting that decision and they had never won a championship.

I have exceeded all of my expectations, but at the same time, as you win championships and you win races, it raises your goals up to another level, and sort of creates new expectations.

I really thought that we have had some years in it to pull off the championship, and you know, one or two things here or there, didn't go our way, we didn't win it, but we have been competitive many, many years since 2001.

But the Chase has changed things. This format I think doesn't suit my style quite as well as the old one but I'm as hungry and as eager as I've ever been to get the championship, because it's something I feel like I've never accomplished and this team has never accomplished and it's something that we desperately want to do. We know because our teammates won the last three, and this year, two of our teammates are right in it, that we have got as much of a shot at it as anybody else, as well.

Can you talk about Rick Hendrick and his role and how vital he is to the success this year?

Rick I think brings a lot of business savvy.
He's really a great boss and he doesn't put any kind of unusual pressure on the team. He just really tries to gather the best people, he listens to the people, what they need to make every aspect of the race team better, whether it be in the injury department, the chassis department or each team with the crew chief, or every person.

And so it really has grown over the years with all of the wins and all of the championships, that has only gotten stronger. But I've got to tell you, not a day goes by that we don't have concerns about this being a very volatile business, especially with this economy and sponsors.

We are at the mercy of that, and it's a big organization with a lot of people with a lot of overhead and it certainly has it's challenges and I think that those challenges are what keeps you pushing hard to make it all work. But we have just been very fortunate with Rick's guidance and all of the other great people that we have here, that we have been able to make it work very, very well.

Looking ahead at the schedule in these Chase races, what do you think your best opportunities are to gain some points and are there tracks that I guess you expect to do well versus tracks that maybe you hope you do well?

Well, I feel like our mile and a half program has really improved this year. So I am excited about Kansas. I feel like we learned a lot from Chicago earlier in the year. … California was a track earlier in the year where I felt like we let one slip away. And I'm hoping that we can get that one back the next time we go. Martinsville I feel like is a great track for us but we have been getting beat by Jimmie and a couple other guys have been doing a little bit better than us there. So we have got to make some improvements.

I feel like Talladega is a great track for us. I feel like Texas, I can't wait to get back there after the win earlier in the season; it's totally changed our attitude about being able to go and win at Texas. I feel like we have been really good at Homestead, not a winning car but I feel like we have been a Top 5 car and maybe we can make that into a winning car.

The only track that I see that we have to make big gains on is Phoenix. I feel like all of the other tracks, we are very capable.

You alluded to the fact earlier that you don't think the Chase format suits your style as much as the old points system. Why is that?

Well, if I could take 10 races from the schedule and put my best 10 races together, I would throw out a couple of the ones that are in the Chase. I feel like you ask Jimmie Johnson that question, he will say that those are pretty much, other than maybe Talladega, those are 10 of his or nine of his best tracks. You know, I think that that certainly plays a role. You have to be good at all of the tracks to win the championship. The timing of it, you know, you can have a great year, you can win as many races as want, but you've got to have everything going your way in those final 10.

I still think it comes down to the best team, overall team, that's going to win the championship. So I'm not against it. I love the format. I just think that it has not suited my style as much as the old one, because the old one, it's about being consistent over 36 races, not just being able to knock it out of the park or be consistent over 10 races.

In '07, we did as great of a job as we can do and we still lost. So you know, I think that I don't want to make excuses; I want to win the Sprint Cup championship under this format, and I would be so proud and honored to do it, because I know just how tough and challenging this has been on us.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief 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 television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



View All Comments