NASCAR

Hear the latest news, rumors and interviews with some of the biggest stars in the world of motorsports.
At the Track Radio

Check Out Official Site

Is your lineup locked for the next exciting week in fantasy football? Head to Fleaflicker to make pickups and team changes.

Find out everything you need to know to defeat your friends and family in sports video games.
Check It Out Now

Gordon Slips Into Reverse at Wrong Time

By MONTE DUTTON,

AOL

Posted: 2007-09-04 20:18:38

Filed Under: NASCAR

Sports Commentary

NASCAR is holding a two-front war, using two different kinds of cars and two means of determining the standings, one of which has now been rendered virtually meaningless.

That's the forecast for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, scheduled to begin its 10-race run on Sept. 16 in Loudon, N.H. Get The Weather Channel on the line. This might as well be a hurricane, churning relentlessly through the Caribbean.

The season-long favorite, Jeff Gordon, has won four championships in the past, all when the system was sane. After three straight finishes worse than 18th, Gordon still leads by an insane 317 points over Tony Stewart. Well, not necessarily insane. More like irrelevant.

Those points mean nothing except that their ranking determines which 12 drivers make the Chase. Dale Earnhardt, 13th in spite of a fifth-place California Speedway finish on Sunday night, has about as much chance to make up the 128 points that separate him from Kevin Harvick and 12th place as a tsunami has of swamping Dallas.

Jimmie Johnson's California victory was his fifth, and that's one more than Gordon. That means Johnson, who trails Gordon by 430 points in the standings, will begin the Chase -- where the contestants are ranked on the basis of wins, not points -- with at least 5,050 points. Gordon will have to win the final regular-season race, at Richmond on Saturday night, to match Johnson's 5,050.

Four hundred thirty points down the drain.

Gordon is slumping, not at the worst time but at a bad one. He has two weeks to regain his form. These final races before the Chase don't mean much. Only the victories matter, but Johnson's latest victory has to be disquieting to Gordon. The dominant driver of the season, at least in terms of consistency, is no longer the leader, as a practical matter, because points are no longer relevant.

"We'd like to be running better and be out there, getting bonus points, but this team is going to come with a whole different focus and attitude when we get to New Hampshire," Gordon said. "I'll be honest. It's kind of hard to be in this position, because you're in a position where it really doesn't matter; and yet you're a competitor. ... But you know, in the back of your mind, that it really doesn't mean anything. I'm a little disappointed in some of the things we've had happen to us, but at the same time, I'd rather have them happen to us now than in those final 10 races."

Need an edge to win your league? Get all your fantasy football needs from AOL Sports.
· Get Expert Advice Now!

A crash, on lap 179, relegated Gordon to 22nd place at California. The driver who finished outside the top 10 only two times in the first 22 races now has failed to finish near the front in three straight.

Johnson, who has looked up to Gordon as both mentor and friend, sympathizes with Gordon's plight but is aware that he stands to prosper from it.

"I think this is a great problem," said Johnson. "Rick (Hendrick) has three cars capable of winning the championship with Kyle (Busch), Jeff and me. We're all very strong mentally. We all want to win. We all want to race hard. We all want to be a champion for our own reasons: Kyle wants his first. Jeff wants his fifth. I want my second."

Hendrick has clinched three spots in the field, but his odds are better than 25 percent. That's the way the system is. Points don't matter, and neither do percentages.

The reigning champion, Johnson, has the edge. Who would ever have believed that, entering the Chase, Gordon would be the driver who has to regroup?

WHAT ESCAPED THE FONTANA HEAT

-- First John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, buys half of Jack Roush's team. Now Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel, of the Arizona Diamondbacks, have bought controlling interest in Hall of Fame Racing. Baseball and racing have more in common than long drives, all of a sudden.

-- At Richmond -- which is, by the way, the site of Earnhardt Jr.'s most recent win -- Earnhardt can win and lead the most laps, yet still not make the Chase even if Kevin Harvick finishes as low as 32nd and doesn't lead any laps. If Earnhardt finishes fifth -- for the third week in a row -- he won't make the Chase if Harvick finishes anywhere other than dead last.

-- California Speedway continues to have trouble putting fannies in the seats. It didn't help that the race fell during a sweltering heat wave. The grandstands' 92,000 seats were about two thirds full when the Sony Aquos 500 started. Thousands more left long before the finish.

-- Labor Day weekend was the property of Darlington Raceway for 54 years (1950-2003). Since the holiday date moved to Fontana, there have been no sellouts. Since Darlington received what is widely considered the least desirable spot on the schedule, the Saturday night before Mother's Day, there have been no empty seats at the South Carolina track.

2007-09-04 11:49:35

Must Read?

70 %

30 %

0 VOTES

Recent Comments

Post Your Own

1 - 10 of 113

113 comments

joeinchgo1970 09:59:22 AM Oct 08 2007

Report This!

has it ever been determined if nascar is actually a sport??

ckcbm 05:35:58 PM Sep 15 2007

Report This!

this is all old news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parrish63 09:30:51 AM Sep 14 2007

Report This!

give the race back to Darlington!!!!!

MARYANNSCHICK 02:45:04 PM Sep 13 2007

Report This!

for all those who cry about the foreign invasion ruining NASCAR, I suggest that you take a look at where your Chevies and Fords parked in your local showrooms were made.

georgeshobby 01:36:00 AM Sep 13 2007

Report This!

Nascar= Not Actually Stock Car Auto Racing! Just so y'all know, the last stock car to win a nascar championship was a '65 ford galaxie 500 driven by Dale Jarrett's dad Ned. Ain't been the same since. I'm a long time fan, but the chase is ruining the sport,
as well as the Cars of trash. Make the teams pull cars off the lots and make them race ready without altering the sheet metal. that would be a riot!!!!!!

dga2ndunit 03:23:00 PM Sep 12 2007

Report This!

DGA2ndUnit
Never Over Til It's Over. Everyone said Tony was done last year and he won more than ever. People also said Jeff lost it totally two years ago and wouldn't recover.

userpete5739 09:30:51 PM Sep 11 2007

Report This!

Gordon is fantastic

wackytravels 08:30:49 PM Sep 11 2007

Report This!

Next it will be the top 15 finishers, then the top 25, and then it will be the NHL playoffs, in which almost every team gets into the post season

a20fourfan 09:45:09 AM Sep 11 2007

Report This!

I have always been a 24 fan since sprint car days. My brother is a Junior fan. He and I have been to a lot of Daytona races and Pepsi 400 races here in Daytona. I have to say that I admire Junior! What he has decided to do was not an easy thing at all. It took a lot of guts but it was the right thing to do too. Ever since Dale Sr passed away the problems started at DEI. What Theresa did to DEI is nothing short of a nightmare. Not giving up the number 8 was the cherry on the cake. I am so proud that Junior decided to leave. He was not getting anywhere by staying and having to put up with all the crap. And through all of this he still showed the world that he's a class act. I respect him more now than ever before. He will win the 2008 Championship and you heard it here first!!!!

fracingmom 09:00:32 PM Sep 10 2007

Report This!

I have a lot of respect for most of the nascar drivers. They put their life on the line to make an interesting race for the fans. They are all good guys. Some of them have more respect for themselves then others and conduct themselves better. My heart goes out to all of them. Go Jeff.

1 - 10 of 113

113 comments