Posts from the Jeff Gordon Category at FanHouse

For two weeks in a row, the crew members on the other side of the pit wall have helped take a good finish out of the hands of a Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Last week at Watkins Glen, it was a bad call by Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Sunday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway, it was a bad pit stop by Jeff Gordon's No. 24 over-the-wall crew.

Gordon started Sunday's 3M Performance 400 and ran in the Top-10 for most of the race's first 90 laps. On lap 85, Dave Blaney smacked the outside wall on the backstretch to bring out the race's second caution -- bringing the entire field to pit road.

Gordon came to his crew in fourth spot having just run some of his best laps during the previous green flag run. On the ensuing four-tire change, lug nuts fell off one of the wheels and caused a lengthier stop than the other leaders. The result was Gordon coming back on track in 14th position.

The calendar now says August, and unbelievably, former Sprint Cup champions Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart still haven't found victory lane in 2008.

It wouldn't be correct, though, to say that each driver has struggled in 2008. In fact, it's been quite the opposite.

Through 21 races, Gordon has secured two poles, eight Top-5s, and to Top-10s. His best finish was a second-place run at Martinsville in the spring, and the results have landed him solidly inside the Top 12 drivers who will qualify for the the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

He's currently 6th in points, 381 points out of the lead.

Three DNF's in 2008 have hurt Gordon's season stats so far and without that share of bad luck, he'd be in much better shape as the series heads to a track that Gordon undoubtedly has to call one his favorites -- the road course at Watkins Glen.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

NASCAR might be seeing the same old song and dance Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that can be best described in two of the most worrisome words to any driver: tire issues.

During the one-hour practice session, teams were burning their right-side tires down to the cords in a matter of three to five laps, leaving the cars with unpredictable handling and an increased chance of blowing a tire and sending a race car careening into the wall.

Mark Martin was one of a number of drivers who walked to the NASCAR hauler following practice to discuss the need for teams to have access to more tires in the final practice session:

"I just wanted to make sure that NASCAR knows that even an ol' gray hair thinks that we need more tires," said Martin.

Teams are limited over the course of a weekend to a certain number of $1,600 sets of tires for practice and qualifying. In Martin's case, his No. 8 car used four sets of tires to run a grand total of 15 laps in the session.

There is no limit during the race.

The tire problems come as a result of a changed rubber compound stemming from the new car being used at the track. The left side compound is one that has plenty of grip and but the right side is wearing away quickly in a powder-like form.

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Hendrick Motorsports is running strong at Indianapolis.

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon put their Chevrolets away Friday afternoon at the Brickyard with the Top-2 speeds overall of both Friday practices in preparation for Saturday's run for the pole.

In the heat of the afternoon, Johnson and Gordon were the only two drivers to overtake the 180 mph mark, with Johnson setting the pace with a lap of 180.047mph and Gordon following closely behind at 180.007 mph.

Elliott Sadler in his No. 19 Dodge paced the first practice session with a lap of 179.190mph.

There was just one incident in the two afternoon practice sessions as Sam Hornish Jr. -- more known at Indy for his 2006 Indianapolis 500 victory -- looped his No. 77 in the short chute between turns 1 & 2 without any damage.

Sunday afternoon, the Sprint Cup Series makes its 15th trip back to the place where they said stock cars will never race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All this week, FanHouse will relive the best moments we've seen at the Brickyard.

The 1994 and inaugural running of the Brickyard 400 couldn't have ended in a more storybook manner for both IMS and NASCAR racing. Some would say the race was the first big step NASCAR took to becoming America's most-followed racing series as it started to shed its Southern roots and showcase a new golden boy driver.

Watch for yourself as the hometown kid tackles the last five laps of the 1994 Brickyard 400:



Ernie Irvan looked to be on his way to victory with just a handful of laps remaining ahead of sophomore Jeff Gordon until he lost a tire heading to turn one and finally cut it on the backstretch while leading the first-ever stock car race at track long known for the Indianapolis 500.

Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona wasn't the first Jeff Gordon has lost a big race at Daytona thanks to a spin on a late race restart.

And it wasn't the first time that Gordon caused the wreck himself. First, we'll start with Gordon's most current mistake at Daytona:


As Kyle Busch restarted the race, he kept the field at a slow pace, messing up 2nd-place Gordon's timing as they came to the green flag. That allowed Carl Edwards to get a run on the inside of the No. 24 as they exited the tri-oval, and when Gordon threw the block, his left-rear clipped Edwards' right-front fender, spinning the No. 24 out of the race.

Gordon had led 46 laps in the 160-lap event and appeared to have a car that could overtake Busch for the win, but the late race mistake during the green-white-checkered finish left Gordon with a 30th-place finish, just as the same move cost Gordon a shot at winning the 2002 Daytona 500:

A year ago, Jeff Gordon was Kyle Busch.

After the Sprint Cup race in Sonoma, Gordon was leading the points and had won four times and started on the pole six times in 2007.

A year later, Gordon finds himself sixth in points and without a win.

Needless to say, the frustration is starting to catch up to Gordon.

"It's been an up-and-down year, and you know, we've been able to pull these top-fives out like this and not have great cars, and we're just working way, way, too hard for these types of finishes," said Gordon.

Working too hard is the understatement. Gordon was simply out to lunch for the first half of the race Sunday at Infineon Raceway and with limited adjustments, smart moves to get track position, and some late race crashes, Gordon was able to score a third place finish.

There truly hasn't been a race all season long that Gordon has had a dominant race car like he did several times in 2007. From his horrible outing at Texas to squeezing out a Top-5 finish at Charlotte thanks to a fuel mileage run, the No. 24 roller coaster hasn't been a fun ride.

As we head into the first race at Pocono Raceway this weekend, its important to flash back to the happenings of the 2007 Pocono 500.

That event, won by Jeff Gordon, ended prematurely thanks to the rain that swept in and stopped the race for good at lap 106. Ryan Newman, though, nearly won the event after near passing Gordon just before the caution. Watch below:



Ah, that not-so-distant times of Jeff Gordon's wanna-be mullet haircut. The hair has been trimmed for 2008, which makes me think, should Gordon grow out the mop again?

After this race at Pocono a year ago, Gordon had won four races in the Sprint Cup Series, which means Gordon fans must start a petition for Jeff to avoid the barber at all costs for at least the next two years. It's all in the name of Sprint Cup victories and bad pictures, of course.

The long hair didn't quite work for Tony Stewart in 2008, so maybe the new car really is what is keeping Gordon out of victory lane in 2008.

Kyle Busch should be sponsored by a lawn mowing company, because he is simply mowing down the NASCAR world.

Crappy one-liners aside, Busch took his fourth Sprint Cup series win of 2008 after flat dominating the field during the last half of the race in Sunday's Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway.

It also tallied as his 10th overall among NASCAR's top three divisions this season.

So how does a "Top-5" car run in the middle of the pack for nearly an entire race?

Just ask Jeff Gordon.

Following last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Gordon found himself with a fourth-place finish in NASCAR's longest event after stretching his fuel mileage late in the race. That finish, though, wasn't an accurate picture of Gordon's night at LMS.

According to NASCAR's loop data, Gordon had an average running position throughout the race of 19th. Winner Kasey Kahne however averaged a 5th-place effort.

In years past, statistics like that and Gordon pulling out a fourth-place finish would be indicative of a car that just wasn't performing throughout the event, but that simply wasn't true. Instead, what kept Gordon -- and plenty of other drivers -- from moving through the field was his track position.

"...When we got up front there and got our lap back, I thought hey, you know, we've got a pretty decent car. We just need track position," said Gordon after the race. "Once we got our lap back, we were back in the back again and there were cars all over the place."

"You just can't go anywhere and you can't pass anybody."

As a race fan, I'm not particularly fond of a driver saying "you can't pass anybody".