muggle not
11th November 2007, 20:27
Read it if for no other reason than his comments on N. Wilkesboro:
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs...TAFF/711110355 (http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071111/NRSTAFF/711110355)
Gordon still hungers for victory lane
By Dustin Long
Staff Writer
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 3:00 am
Credit: Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
Jeff Gordon before practice Saturday for Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway.
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jeff Gordon led at Infineon Raceway three years ago when his seat belts came undone.
"I was freaking out," he said.
His body bounced against his seat as he raced on the twisting road course. Gordon didn't radio his crew about the problem because NASCAR monitors team radio frequencies. Series officials would force him to pit to fix his belts if they heard about it.
"I ran a lap and, luckily, the caution came out," Gordon said. "I got it latched under caution. That was ... one of those races you thought, 'What's going to happen next?' And yet we ended up winning the race."
It was one of 81 times Gordon has won in NASCAR's top circuit.
Gordon admits all those victories are a blur, but some -- like that day in Sonoma, Calif. -- stand out even among the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Coca-Cola 600 triumphs.
With a little prodding, the memories of other victories return along with the unusual stories behind them.
Today could join that list.
Gordon enters the race at Phoenix International Raceway 30 points behind teammate Jimmie Johnson for the series lead. Winning might be the only way to overtake Johnson, who has won the last three races. Should Gordon do so, he'll take a special trinket to victory lane. It's what he has carried to two victories this season. It would make for another good story.
The baby sock
It was his wife's idea.
Before the Chase began in September, Ingrid gave Gordon one of their daughter's socks to carry in a pocket in his car.
Ella was born in June and is their first child.
"She just wanted Ella to kind of play a role since she can't necessarily say anything," Gordon said of Ingrid's idea. "That was like (Ella's) way of cheering me on."
It worked at Talladega, where Ella joined her parents and the sock in victory lane.
Gordon won again the following week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It will be in his car again today.
Erasing self doubt
Hendrick Motorsports, Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon -- it was the perfect combination. The trio combined to win three championships and 40 races in 1995-98. Then Evernham left late in the 1999 season to lead Dodge's return to the series. Gordon headed to the fall Martinsville race without his crew chief for the first time.
"We had so much success and we had always been together that there were a lot of questions," Gordon said. "Is it Hendrick? Is it Ray? Is it Jeff? It seemed like I always kind of got left to the last one.
"When things did change ... and we went to Martinsville and won that race, I think it answered a lot of questions. It showed me that I had what it took to continue to win. I think that it said that as long as our team was solid and well put together, we're going to be able to function just fine."
Overcoming an obstacle
Gordon misses North Wilkesboro. Not for the atmosphere, but for the track.
It wasn't until the speedway's final race in 1996 that he won there.
"That track challenged me even more than Martinsville did," he said. "I wish some of these guys got to run at North Wilkesboro. These guys, they're always talking about how tough Martinsville is. I'm telling you what, North Wilkesboro was tough. I took a lot of pride that I finally won there.
"That place, I just felt like I was lost every time I went there. I had no clue, and then we won a pole in '95 and that meant a lot to me. Then we went there and won the race in '96. It's always one that stands out in my mind as a great accomplishment."
One in a million
Gordon has had his share of thrilling late-race duels. One of the most memorable was his 1997 Southern 500 victory, when he beat Jeff Burton as they bumped and banged in the final laps. At stake was more than a race: Gordon collected a $1 million bonus for winning.
"That was just one of those miracle days," Gordon said. "There was a ton of hype because of the Winston million program. Here we found ourselves leading in the closing laps, and I got into the wall I think off of (Turn) 2. Aerodynamically it affected us. While Jeff was pressuring me, I think I could have held him off a little bit easier, but then with the damage, man, here he comes on the last lap and he makes that great move on the inside.
"I had no other option other than to be extremely defensive and make my car really wide. I don't like winning races by driving a guy all over the place to pull it off. I'd rather win a race by passing a guy in the closing laps."
A hint of regret
Gordon said there's a race he wishes he had won a different way.
"Kenseth at Chicago," Gordon said of last year's race, where his tap spun Matt Kenseth out of the lead late and Gordon went on to win. "I don't mind bumping and moving a guy, but when he goes around, that's not what you want to do. That's not what you want the outcome to be."
Validation
Gordon's 13-victory season in 1998 didn't come without controversy. Car owner Jack Roush accused the team of illegally treating its tires after Gordon won at New Hampshire. NASCAR's investigation found nothing wrong. Gordon got out front with a two-tire pit stop late, while Roush's driver, Mark Martin changed four.
"We were doing some pretty extraordinary things that year, and I think because of that there was a lot of accusations of what was going on, whether we were doing it legitimate or not," Gordon said.
"We knew that we didn't do anything other than put two tires on and got out front and got clean air. That was when I really remembered track position becoming extremely important. That was kind of unheard of back then. You took two tires anywhere, and you were going to get dusted off."
One that doesn't count
His 2001 all-star victory is among the more unusual in series history. It also doesn't count as one of Gordon's 81 wins since it wasn't a points race.
Rain fell as the race started and several contenders crashed in the first turn, including Gordon. As the drivers were examined in the infield care center, NASCAR officials made the unprecedented move to permit teams to race their backup cars.
"That was definitely bizarre," Gordon said. "Physically, I was certainly fine to get back into the car, just that I didn't think I had a car. When we started talking about pulling the backup car out, I was like, 'That's cool, but I don't know if this car is going to be capable of winning the race,' being that it was the backup car."
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs...TAFF/711110355 (http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071111/NRSTAFF/711110355)
Gordon still hungers for victory lane
By Dustin Long
Staff Writer
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 3:00 am
Credit: Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
Jeff Gordon before practice Saturday for Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway.
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jeff Gordon led at Infineon Raceway three years ago when his seat belts came undone.
"I was freaking out," he said.
His body bounced against his seat as he raced on the twisting road course. Gordon didn't radio his crew about the problem because NASCAR monitors team radio frequencies. Series officials would force him to pit to fix his belts if they heard about it.
"I ran a lap and, luckily, the caution came out," Gordon said. "I got it latched under caution. That was ... one of those races you thought, 'What's going to happen next?' And yet we ended up winning the race."
It was one of 81 times Gordon has won in NASCAR's top circuit.
Gordon admits all those victories are a blur, but some -- like that day in Sonoma, Calif. -- stand out even among the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Coca-Cola 600 triumphs.
With a little prodding, the memories of other victories return along with the unusual stories behind them.
Today could join that list.
Gordon enters the race at Phoenix International Raceway 30 points behind teammate Jimmie Johnson for the series lead. Winning might be the only way to overtake Johnson, who has won the last three races. Should Gordon do so, he'll take a special trinket to victory lane. It's what he has carried to two victories this season. It would make for another good story.
The baby sock
It was his wife's idea.
Before the Chase began in September, Ingrid gave Gordon one of their daughter's socks to carry in a pocket in his car.
Ella was born in June and is their first child.
"She just wanted Ella to kind of play a role since she can't necessarily say anything," Gordon said of Ingrid's idea. "That was like (Ella's) way of cheering me on."
It worked at Talladega, where Ella joined her parents and the sock in victory lane.
Gordon won again the following week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It will be in his car again today.
Erasing self doubt
Hendrick Motorsports, Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon -- it was the perfect combination. The trio combined to win three championships and 40 races in 1995-98. Then Evernham left late in the 1999 season to lead Dodge's return to the series. Gordon headed to the fall Martinsville race without his crew chief for the first time.
"We had so much success and we had always been together that there were a lot of questions," Gordon said. "Is it Hendrick? Is it Ray? Is it Jeff? It seemed like I always kind of got left to the last one.
"When things did change ... and we went to Martinsville and won that race, I think it answered a lot of questions. It showed me that I had what it took to continue to win. I think that it said that as long as our team was solid and well put together, we're going to be able to function just fine."
Overcoming an obstacle
Gordon misses North Wilkesboro. Not for the atmosphere, but for the track.
It wasn't until the speedway's final race in 1996 that he won there.
"That track challenged me even more than Martinsville did," he said. "I wish some of these guys got to run at North Wilkesboro. These guys, they're always talking about how tough Martinsville is. I'm telling you what, North Wilkesboro was tough. I took a lot of pride that I finally won there.
"That place, I just felt like I was lost every time I went there. I had no clue, and then we won a pole in '95 and that meant a lot to me. Then we went there and won the race in '96. It's always one that stands out in my mind as a great accomplishment."
One in a million
Gordon has had his share of thrilling late-race duels. One of the most memorable was his 1997 Southern 500 victory, when he beat Jeff Burton as they bumped and banged in the final laps. At stake was more than a race: Gordon collected a $1 million bonus for winning.
"That was just one of those miracle days," Gordon said. "There was a ton of hype because of the Winston million program. Here we found ourselves leading in the closing laps, and I got into the wall I think off of (Turn) 2. Aerodynamically it affected us. While Jeff was pressuring me, I think I could have held him off a little bit easier, but then with the damage, man, here he comes on the last lap and he makes that great move on the inside.
"I had no other option other than to be extremely defensive and make my car really wide. I don't like winning races by driving a guy all over the place to pull it off. I'd rather win a race by passing a guy in the closing laps."
A hint of regret
Gordon said there's a race he wishes he had won a different way.
"Kenseth at Chicago," Gordon said of last year's race, where his tap spun Matt Kenseth out of the lead late and Gordon went on to win. "I don't mind bumping and moving a guy, but when he goes around, that's not what you want to do. That's not what you want the outcome to be."
Validation
Gordon's 13-victory season in 1998 didn't come without controversy. Car owner Jack Roush accused the team of illegally treating its tires after Gordon won at New Hampshire. NASCAR's investigation found nothing wrong. Gordon got out front with a two-tire pit stop late, while Roush's driver, Mark Martin changed four.
"We were doing some pretty extraordinary things that year, and I think because of that there was a lot of accusations of what was going on, whether we were doing it legitimate or not," Gordon said.
"We knew that we didn't do anything other than put two tires on and got out front and got clean air. That was when I really remembered track position becoming extremely important. That was kind of unheard of back then. You took two tires anywhere, and you were going to get dusted off."
One that doesn't count
His 2001 all-star victory is among the more unusual in series history. It also doesn't count as one of Gordon's 81 wins since it wasn't a points race.
Rain fell as the race started and several contenders crashed in the first turn, including Gordon. As the drivers were examined in the infield care center, NASCAR officials made the unprecedented move to permit teams to race their backup cars.
"That was definitely bizarre," Gordon said. "Physically, I was certainly fine to get back into the car, just that I didn't think I had a car. When we started talking about pulling the backup car out, I was like, 'That's cool, but I don't know if this car is going to be capable of winning the race,' being that it was the backup car."