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Gordon ‘Hanging Around’ In Chase Battle, Looking For Late-Season Surge
Jeff Gordon seems to be in the same high-banked boat as Dale Earnhardt Jr. this week. Like Earnhardt, Gordon needs to rally quickly if he is to have a viable chance at winning the series championship.
And like Earnhardt, he has history on his side.
Gordon has won six times at Talladega, including a sweep of last season’s two events there. That victory total is second all-time behind the 10 wins posted by the late Dale Earnhardt.
While Earnhardt seems reluctant to predict a serious points shake-up Sunday, Gordon sounds like he’s planning on it.
A lot can happen points-wise in this race,” said Gordon. “Hopefully, there are no big accidents, and if there are, we are able to avoid them.
“I feel this is a race we can win. We just need to be in a position at the end to challenge for the victory.”
Leading is the best way to avoid trouble at Talladega, Gordon said, adding, “if you get shuffled out of the lead, you have to survey the situation and make the best decision at that time. If there are plenty of laps left, do you try and stay in the lead pack to draft back up to the front? Or do you clear yourself of the main pack and just ride around until the closing stages to make your move? Last year in this race, I hung back away from the big pack for much of the day and was still able to win. While I hate that strategy, it worked in that instance.”
Closing In On Cale; Johnson Has ‘Threepeat’ In His Sights
We’ve seen this before.
A late-season lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points belongs to Jimmie Johnson, a driver who has developed a decided knack for “closing the deal” when presented with the opportunity to win the series championship.
This is Johnson’s time of year. Consider:
In 2006, he finished the season with six consecutive top-10 finishes. Included was a five-race stretch in which he had four second-place finishes and a victory at Martinsville.
In 2007, he won four consecutive races during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to win the title going away.
This year, he has rallied again. Pre-Chase victories at California and Richmond secured the Chase’s second seed. In the three Chase races thus far he has a second, a fifth and, this past Sunday, a victory at Kansas.
And as a result, he now has the series points lead. Once again.
Johnson is trying to become only the second driver in history to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship three consecutive years. Cale Yarborough did so from 1976-78.
Only five drivers have won the title three or more times: Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip (3), Jeff Gordon (4), Richard Petty (7) and Dale Earnhardt (7).
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Etc. — Skinner’s Back, Earnhardt Has Unique Fan Support
Mike Skinner is back — again.
Red Bull Racing announced this week that Skinner and Red Bull development driver Scott Speed will replace AJ Allmendinger in the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota for the rest of this season.
The No. 84 entry is currently 33rd in the car owner points, just inside the top-35 cutoff for automatic entry into this weekend’s event.
“The schedule we put together is in the best interest of both Red Bull Racing Team and AJ’s plans for the future,” said RBRT Vice President and General Manager Jay Frye. Allowing Mike Skinner and Scott Speed to share the No. 84 for the balance of the season helps our team continue developing our program for the future.”
Skinner, who drove the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota for five races earlier in the 2008 season, will take the reins of the No. 84 at the NSCS races in both Talladega and Charlotte. Red Bull development driver Speed will drive the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Oct. 11 – the same weekend he attempts to clinch the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship in Toledo, Ohio. Speed will then take over driving duties of the No. 84 at Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami. …
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet will be adorned with 73,000 signatures this weekend, as part of a “Ride With Dale Jr.” promotion. One lucky fan, Dewayne Bennett of Pickens, S.C., will be the last signature on the car. Bennett will sign just before Earnhardt’s qualifying laps.
