Gordon hopes Chase system works for him this year
Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon has, on occasion, been seen as a victim of NASCAR's new method of determining its Cup champion.
In 2007, for instance, he was the man giving up a commanding lead atop the standings when the field was set and then the points altered among the drivers who qualified to fight it out for the title.
This time, however, Gordon is the one gaining ground by virtue of the scoring system being used in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
Sunday morning, Gordon was 681 points behind series leader Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing group. Sunday night, Gordon's deficit was cut to a mere 80 points.
Though he's winless this season, Gordon still has a shot to win the 2009 title. The four-time champion certainly knows that anything can happen in these final 10 races and isn't ruling out a run at a fifth title. Even though he's potentially lost championships to the new system, he remains a fan of this format. Now he just hopes to take advantage of his new standing.
“This format is exciting for the fans, and it’s exciting for the competitors,” Gordon said. “And while I ‘could have, should have’ won more championships if we were still using the season-long format, I think this one is better for our sport.
“But I do think it’s tougher to win. Instead of the two or three or four guys racing for the championship at this point in the season, we now have 12 guys that could win it, and anything can happen.
So Gordon heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, site of Sunday's Sylvania 300, with renewed optimism. In 27 starts at the track, he has three wins, 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes as well as three poles. He has led the most laps in six races for a total of 1,141 at the front.
“This is a good track for us, and it has been for many, many years,” said Gordon.“I feel confident that we can usually come here without our A-game and still have a top-five car. Last year, we started off the Chase well with a second-place finish, and I hope we do as well this year.”
