The Hot Pass: Gordon's new approach
MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Jeff Gordon, who won his sixth pole at Martinsville Speedway and his seventh pole of the season on Friday, believes the secret to his success this season is balance.
The four-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion has finally put together the pieces of his life in order to establish a comfort level where he feels anything is possible — on and off the track. Jeff Gordon says that whether he wins the championship or not, 2007 will "go down as one of (his) best years ever."
"If we do win the championship it will undoubtedly be the best and it's because it's been a while since we've been this competitive," Jeff Gordon said. "I've got a new crew chief, obviously being a dad, new wife — there's a lot of amazing things that have happened this year. I feel like everything is better balanced for me and it's taken a few years to get it to this point on and off the race track.
"Whether it be friends, family, race team, business, everything has really just come together sort of all at once. When you have things going that way, there's nothing better than capping it off with the thing that you do for a living — being the best at it or being at the top. So obviously that would be the ultimate way to cap off this year, but we'll see what happens."
Jeff Gordon is the master of Martinsville among active drivers. He has twice as many wins (7) as any current driver, and only Richard Petty (15) and Darrell Waltrip (11) have scored more victories on the 0.526-miler. Jeff Gordon also tops the field in laps led — 2,298 over 21 races. He says the key is a combination of rhythm and not overdriving the corners.
"The speed all comes from the middle of the corner off, but it all starts with where you let off and how you get on the brakes getting into the corner," Jeff Gordon said. "That's what sets you up to get through the middle and the exit and when you figure it out, it allows the team to adjust the car in a totally different way.
"A lot of guys could maybe take my setup and go out there and go, 'Oooh, I don't like this,' but unless you drive it just like I drive it it's not going to work. Some guys might find ways to get a different setup to work just as good as ours, but for the way I drive the track the way that I found that worked for me, once I get into that rhythm then it allows me to really give the team information to fine-tune it."
Jeff Gordon currently leads the Chase for the Nextel Cup by 68 points over teammate Jimmie Johnson, and he knows that his greatest competition this weekend will come from within the Hendrick Motorsports stable.
"Jimmie's going to be pushing hard because he's won the last couple of races here and he had an off-weekend at Charlotte," Jeff Gordon said. "I would think that this is not one he's going to be taking it easy on.
"We have to go out and race hard. We're racing to win. If second's the best we can do — we'll take it. If fifth is the best we can do — we'll take it. We just have to get the best finish we can."
But will Jeff Gordon be as lenient with Johnson as he was at Martinsville in the spring when the teammates finished 1-2? With the championship on the line, don't count on it.
But Jeff Gordon insists he won't dump J.J. either.
"If it comes down to a situation like that again, I more concerned with getting our car to turn and being able to accelerate underneath him to make a clean pass," Jeff Gordon said. "That's what we didn't have the last time. That's why we were bumping and banging at the end. I got the opportunity to get underneath him. I just couldn't complete the pass."
In the Marbles
It's dangerous to run "in the marbles," where rumor and innuendo trade paint, where everybody has an angle and the real story can be ridin' high one moment and spun out the next. So hang on, here we go ...
Hall of Fame Racing appears to be heading in the same direction as Joe Gibbs Racing — to Toyota. While this might not be a surprise, the deal has been delayed due to the budget-busting addition of JGR to the Toyota camp. Once the contracts are inked expect HoF to start working on Phase II — finding a driver to run eight races at the end of next season in preparation for a second team in 2009. One name being bantered about is up-and-comer Brad Coleman, who will be running a full-time schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with Brewco Motorsports next season...
Brendan Gaughan substituted for Robby Gordon, who missed the first Cup practice on Friday because of rescheduling due to rain. Gaughan was 15th on the speed chart after 11 laps. Jeff Gordon was at his Charlotte office putting the finishing touches on his sponsor package for next season, which he claims is "seven-eighths of the way complete."
Another pivotal component Jeff Gordon has is the 14 Car of Tomorrow Ford Fusions for 2008. Could that mean a second driver is in the works at Robby Gordon Racing, perhaps Gaughan? Jeff Gordon just smiled and answered, "Anything is possible." Jeff Gordon shared truck practice with Gaughan Friday afternoon...
Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were on the sidelines of the Green Bay Packers-Washington Redskins game last Sunday. Despite Matt Kenseth's loyalty to his home-state Packers and Junior's affinity for the 'Skins, no betting occurred between the buddies and NASCAR stars. When the subject was broached, Earnhardt offered $10 stakes, to which Matt Kenseth replied it wasn't worth the hassle...
When Jacques Villeneuve was asked whether he'd tried the infamous Martinsville hotdogs, he replied, "I'll leave my hot dog eating to hockey games."
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