From the March, 2007 issue of Stock Car Insider
Jeff Gordon Claims the Top Spot in NASCAR
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| Jeff Gordon accomplished exactly what he set out to do at Bristol Motor Speedway; take the points lead. Barring a catastrophic finish, Gordon was set to take over the lead in the Nextel Cup point standings at the Food City 500. Coming into Bristol, Gordon was 8 points behind semi-retired leader Mark Martin who planned to sit out this race. All Gordon had to do was stay clean and finish in the top ten. Sounds like an easy assignment for a 4-time champion, right? Wrong! There is nothing easy or predictable about Bristol. And with the debut of the Car of Tomorrow, this race offered an additional twist! Initially, Gordon hedged the odds in his favor by capturing the poll. But after only 6 laps as the leader, he relinquished the lead to Tony Stewart, and began a backwards slide that almost found him a lap down. Gordon bottomed out in 24th position about a 3rd of the way through the race. Over 15 cautions, the #24 team was able to make the right adjustments on the Impala SS to help send it back to the top. On the last restart of the race, Jeff Gordon was in second place and looking to take the lead from teammate Kyle Busch. However, Jeff Burton made a daring pass, and Gordon finished the race in 3rd. Despite not winning, the #24 team piloted by Jeff Gordon appears to be the team to beat this year. Over 5 races, they have 4 top 10's and a 12th place finish at Daytona. Could this be the year that Jeff wins his 5th championship?
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