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Sixth on the all-time list with 81 career victories, Gordon had been amazingly consistent for 14 years, winning at least two races every season since 1994. But Gordon was unable to get the No. 24 Chevrolet a victory in 2008, despite 13 top-five finishes, and one has to wonder what that bodes for the future.
Richard Petty faced the same situation after his 18-year win streak was snapped in 1978. He promptly answered critics by winning the 1979 championship. Dale Earnhardt’s streak of 15 consecutive seasons with a victory ended in 1997, but he went on to win six more times—including a much-deserved Daytona 500 victory—and finish second in the 2000 standings.
David Pearson was 46 and Cale Yarborough 47 and both were driving part-time schedules when their streaks ended. And Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, both in their mid-30s, retired after winless 1966 seasons.
So what’s next for 37-year-old Jeff Gordon?
Interestingly enough, three other top drivers have faced that dilemma about the same time in their careers, with widely varying results: Bill Elliott, Mark Martin and Bobby Allison.
Elliott was coming off a 1992 season in which he had won five races and finished second to eventual champion Alan Kulwicki by 10 points. Hopes were high for 1993, but Elliott’s season seemed over before it even began when he blew an engine midway through the Daytona 500, finishing 39th.
Martin had won 13 races in a four-year span heading into 1996. And a quick glance at that season shows Martin’s incomparable consistency: 14 top-fives, 23 top-10s and 702 laps led. But for some reason, Martin was never able to close the deal that year.
At Michigan in June, he led 121 laps before a debris caution brought the field onto pit road for service with less than 40 laps remaining. Martin came in first, but came out 10th after a jammed air gun forced him to pit twice to change all four tires. He finished a disappointing ninth.
Two months later, Martin seemed to have another certain victory at Michigan snatched away when Dale Jarrett passed him with seven laps to go. He wound up losing by .168 seconds, despite leading 135 of 200 laps.
