High five

Jeff Gordon’s victory this past Sunday at Martinsville Speedway snapped a 32-race winless streak and in the process continued his resurgence toward a possible fifth Sprint Cup Series championship. His victory allowed him to close to 27 points of co-leaders Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth heading into Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.

 

His victory at Martinsville, his first of the season, was just the momentum that Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet) and his Hendrick Motorsports team needed in what has been a roller-coaster season. Gordon, who was one of 10 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contenders who tested at Texas Motor Speedway during a three-day test session last week, is looking to carry his momentum to the Lone Star State.

 

“Until we’re mathematically out of it, we’re in it,” Gordon said following his win. “This was certainly a big moment, big day for us, and like I said, we tested at Texas. I’m excited about Texas. I think it’s a great track for us.”

 

In 25 career starts at Texas Motor Speedway, he owns 11 top-10 finishes, including eight among the top five, and earned a victory in the 2009 Samsung 500 to snap a personal 47-race winless streak. He has been a strong qualifier, ranking fifth all time with a 12.36 starting average and one of five drivers with a track-best two poles (fall races of 2008 and ’09).

 

Gordon’s late-season march can be attributed by NASCAR’s unprecedented move to include him in the Chase. After originally missing out on the Chase by one point, NASCAR awarded Gordon the 13th position in the traditional 12-driver Chase field after deeming that Michael Waltrip Racing intended to manipulate the outcome of the race at Richmond International Raceway.

 

Since his inclusion in the Chase, he has been on a meteoric rise in the standings. Gordon has moved from 13th to third as a result of five top-10 finishes during the first seven races of the Chase.

 

“I’m hoping to go to Texas and get a little bit closer and then we’ll have this conversation again,” Gordon said when asked about the pressure of his championship run. “For us, the best thing we can do is just go out there and try to win and get closer and closer and have a chance at Homestead (during the season finale). That really was my goal going into the Chase.”

 

While Johnson and Kenseth have the pressure of the Chase spotlight, Gordon has little to worry about other than winning, which suits him in his quest to win his first Sprint Cup Series championship under the Chase format.

 

“The nice thing is that we’re not doing the points racing right now, we’re just going out and just trying to go out and win races and not think about protecting anything,” Gordon said. “You know, it’s just go and give it everything we’ve got.”

 

TMS PR