It's something many have
said this year -- its Jeff Gordon's year. And it sure seems that way. But if you look back at a few races this year they could
have gone the exact opposite for him and his team, and set him back in his quest for a fifth title.
Just look at all of his
wins. All involved strategy in one way or another. At Phoenix, the timing was
perfect for his final pit stop of the night, pitting right when the yellow came out with a few laps left, helping him score
his 76th career win. The next week, at Talladega, he used a great restrictor plate
car, and help from others to go from mid-pack to the lead with only a few laps left, to surpass the late great Dale Earnhardt's
win total.
A couple weeks later,
at Darlington, crew chief Steve Letarte had a decision to make. Do I tell my driver to pit while leading,
even though the car is overheating badly, or do I have him stay out and hold off Denny Hamlin for the win? I think the fact
that the No. 24 car went to victory lane that day, still pushing water out the overflow, answers that question.
The greatest strategy
I've personally ever seen came in June at Pocono. Driving a car that wasn't the fastest in the field, perhaps a top 15 car
at best, and one with fading brakes, Letarte used perfect pit strategy, capturing the lead at the halfway point, and maintaining
it -- barely, over Ryan Newman. Then the caution came out for rain at lap 106 and the race ended 20 minutes later, with Gordon
again the victor.
Even during the summer
races, when Gordon was working without his right-hand man Letarte, who was serving a six-race suspension for a rules infraction,
at Infineon Raceway he was still able to rip off top 10 finishes each week.
The year wasn't picture
perfect, though. Take Watkins Glen, when Gordon spun out while leading with only two laps left. The positive, he still finished
9th. He also spun at Michigan
on an overcast Tuesday afternoon, receiving a 19th place finish.
I believe some of the
best "fate" we've seen for the No. 24 team has been in the Chase. Their worst finish through the halfway point in the Chase
is 11th at Dover. That's amazing, considering that Gordon was 31st while under
the lengthy rain delay at Kansas, where he and the DuPont Team where able to
rebound and finish 5th.
Then at Talladega, when
he ran in the back the whole day, and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty for having equipment outside the pit box, Gordon
made a last-lap daring pass on teammate Jimmie Johnson, that thus far has set the tone for the Chase -- Jeff Gordon is the man, right now.
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The above statement never
seemed truer than last Saturday night, when Gordon, at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS), the track Johnson and crew chief Chad
Knaus call their house, won. It was his first finish at LMS since October 2004, and his first win at the track since October
1999. He did this with a very low fuel tank, and after he relinquished the lead to Ryan Newman with five to go, when his engine
sputtered.
And with typical
Jeff Gordon luck in 2007, Newman crashed with three to go, giving Gordon the lead back. He would not lose it again, as he
scored a season-high sixth win (same as Johnson).
Fate seems to be on Jeff
Gordon's side in 2007, much like it was for Matt Kenseth in 2003 (remember his consistency, and losing a tire at Infineon
-- at pit road entrance), or Kurt Busch in 2004 (remember Lap 93 at Homestead?).
But that doesn't always
spell a Nextel Cup title. There are still five more races left, two of which are at tracks Jeff Gordon hasn't won at -- Texas
and Homestead. However, before the season started, there were three. Gordon won
at Phoenix in April.
2006 StockCar Review.
