Rea White: Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon remains class of the field
Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon is atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings after six races this season.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
Jeff Gordon continues to show just how much of a class act he is.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver appears to live on the cusp of victory these days, having finished second twice already this season. He also has finishes of fourth (twice) and sixth, with a worst performance of 13th in the season’s first six NASCAR Sprint Cup races. He has led laps in all but one race and led 146 laps Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, the second most of any driver. He is the points leader after six races this season.
And he wasn’t exactly terrible last year either, when he finished second twice and third three times and made the 12-driver championship field in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
Yet he constantly endures questions about his current winless streak of 47 races, about rebuilding his Hendrick team.
Clearly, while he hasn't made it into victory lane since 2006, he's a driver and his is a team to be reckoned with each week. Gordon looks as good as he ever has. He has clearly not lost any ground in terms of his driving style, and now that he has mastered NASCAR's new model Cup car, he is the guy other drivers eye cautiously entering every race weekend.
Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte have their communication down pat and are gaining ground every week. Their performance has reached such a level that every week they are viewed as being among the favorites. Every Friday, contenders and fantasy-game players predict that this could be the week that Gordon returns to victory lane.
And every Sunday, he shows why people believe in him. He moves to the front, he generally leads laps, and he battles with the leaders throughout the event.
And then he shows why he's a fan favorite. He takes all those questions in stride.
Every Friday and every week after the race, Gordon is swarmed by media members. Fridays, they ask about how it would feel to get back to victory lane; Sundays they ask about the emotions of almost winning once more. Gordon smiles and answers. He keeps his perspective on the sport and tries to help others do so as well. He talks about improvement in his team, about incremental gains and about how proud he is of their effort.
He doesn't single out a person, an incident, a pit stop or a competitor as blocking his path to victory. He takes the team approach and becomes a cheerleader for his own group.
Then he goes back to work during the week, trying to find that edge that will let him be talking about the win when the next Sunday rolls around.
And that's the true sign of a champion. It's not Gordon's four titles that have made him a fan favorite but rather the way that he handles both victory and setbacks with the same attitude.
It's what makes him stand above the crowd - whether he is leading the standings or not.
