Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 3 - Jeff Gordon
Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon finished third in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. // LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
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Jeff Gordon made significant gains in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season over 2008, but the Hendrick Motorsports driver finished out the campaign still hungry for more.
While Gordon eclipsed his performance from the previous season in almost every major category, his No. 24 team wasn’t in the same league as that of teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin who combined for 12 victories and finished 1-2 in the standings.
Gordon opened the season with finishes of sixth or better in six of the first seven races, including a win at Texas Motor Speedway that snapped a 47-race winless streak, and held the series lead for multiple weeks.
He never ran as consistently strong after his hot start, however, and went on to finish third in the standings - 179 points behind Johnson and 38 behind Martin.
The four-time Cup champion collected $6,210,614 in race earnings.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 35 in 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Gordon’s season unfolded:
By the numbers: Gordon posted one win, 16 top-fives and 25 top-10s in 36 starts on the way to finishing third in the standings. His average starting position was 10.9, while his average finishing position was 10.2. Gordon recorded one DNF and completed 99.1 percent of all laps. Gordon led 827 laps.
Season highlights: The high point of Gordon’s season was the victory at Texas in April, which snapped a 47-race winless skid. Making the Chase For The Sprint Cup and finishing second a series-high eight times were also significant accomplishments.
Key setbacks: Gordon tumbled four spots to 10th in the standings with a 15th-place finish in the Chase opener at New Hampshire and never completely recovered. He was mathematically eliminated from championship contention with one race to go after finishes of 20th at Talladega and 13th at Texas derailed a potential late rally.
Newsworthy moment: Gordon complained of persistent back pain early in the season and admitted that back problems likely hindered his performance in 2008, when he failed to win a race and finished seventh in the standings. Gordon underwent a facet-block procedure on May 18 with the injection of an anti-inflammatory medicine in his back. The procedure was designed to be therapeutic and diagnostic. As the season wore on, Gordon said his back felt better. Gordon hinted early in the season that back issues could force him to retire earlier than originally planned, but team owner Rick Hendrick said during the season’s final weekend that he expects Gordon to drive several more years.
In his words: “We had a very good year, no doubt about it, but we’re pretty realistic: It wasn’t enough. Obviously, [that’s] why we’re third. It was a big step up from last season, and I’m very proud of that. I feel like our efforts and the direction that those efforts went into were very beneficial, but they weren’t enough. So we’ve got to do more, and that’s what we’re analyzing and breaking down [is] all those details.”
