Gordon in a tricky position as weeks wind down going into the Chase
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Friday, July 25, 2008
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Jason Smith / Getty Images for NASCAR
INDIANAPOLIS – Jeff Gordon knows he and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team are in a precarious position.
Yes, Gordon sits sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings. But while he’s 110 points out of fifth place, he’s only 128 ahead of 13th-place Clint Bowyer as the race to the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup heads into its closing stages.
Gordon is also in the unique position of not having a victory at this point in the season. Chase seeding is based on wins, so while Gordon would love to have more victories to be able to start the Chase in a better position, he also has to balance that desire with simply getting in the championship-determining segment of the season. He points to seven-time race winner Kyle Busch as leading the bonus-points crowd.
“With the Chase, we need the bonus points,” Gordon said. “Kyle [has] got a bunch of them, Carl [Edwards] has a good amount. We need to win some races and get those bonus points, but we have to make sure we’re in the Chase.
“Being sixth, we can’t really make any big mistakes. Right now, I don’t feel like we can take as big a risk as some guys further ahead of us in points and the guys 13th on back.”
Besides, risks don't always pay off, even at a place like Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Gordon has four victories.
“Everything is risk versus reward in my opinion, in racing, in life,” Gordon said. “When you can sense a checkered flag at the tip of your fingertips, you go for it. You take risks.
“But it depends on where you’re at in the points. It depends on what your goals for the season are. But I think you go for the win and you try to make a move, but you don’t try to take yourself out. I can’t think of any win or battle I’ve ever had in the closing laps where I’ve made a move that I thought could cause a wreck to win the race.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Jeff Gordon
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