April Fifth, 2009: the economic downturn is in full swing. Roughly 663,000 people have lost their jobs in the weeks prior, raising the unemployment rate to 8.5%. The automobile industry is amidst a crisis and United States President Barack Obama has just announced his plan for worldwide nuclear disarmament.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Meanwhile, a cowboy-hat adorned Jeff Gordon fires two pistols into the air, celebrating his win in victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway.

If you were to tell a fellow fan that it would be almost two years and 66 races before Gordon would return to victory lane, you would have been laughed at- but such was the case for one of NASCAR’s biggest stars.

Much has changed since that spring afternoon in Fort Worth, where Gordon still had more championships than his teammate Jimmie Johnson.

The 2011 campaign was one of heartbreak, where Gordon finished second eight times and found himself playing second-fiddle to teammate Jimmie Johnson a majority of the time. To return his company to it’s once overall dominance, team owner Rick Hendrick reacted by naming Alan Gustafson the new crew chief for Jeff as part of an organization-wide personnel shuffle- a change that clicked immediately.

Gordon was extremely fast during Daytona Speedweeks, but an accident early in the Daytona 500 forced him to watch the race from the infield with many other drivers who were involved in the accident.

Gordon’s return to victory lane this afternoon in Phoenix was more than just capturing his 83rd career win or having a fast car, but proof that the California native isn’t done yet.

“When we dropped the green flag, I knew I had something special,” said Gordon, who led a total of 138 laps after sustaining left-side damage in an early wreck that took out nearly half the field.

“Every driver knows that they may not get back to victory lane, and I was hoping that wasn’t the case for me,” said the emotional winner, who admitted this afternoon in the media center that he has often questioned whether he still has what it takes to compete at the sport’s highest level.

After a disappointing start for the season last week in Daytona where he finished 28th, Gordon has moved to 5th in the points standings, just 15 markers behind after his win.

After being asked about his outlook on the remainder of the season, Gordon replied saying “I’m so excited about this season, and think we can do it (win) again.”

For the latest NASCAR news and information, follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleBrandtSM.

Amid the reports and concerns of struggling television ratings, NASCAR has delivered some unique racing and interesting storylines to kickoff the year. For example, a change in the point’s systems awards winners and those drivers that elected to run for points specifically in one series. The new nose on the Sprint Cup car provided unique drafting, and the elimination of the catch can man changes the crew dynamic. And while all these changes are being sorted out, the boys are racing again.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”295″][/media-credit]The 2011 stock car racing season is underway and is being scripted like a fairy tale despite the rulebook. On track action and results have been incredible. The Cinderella season started on the Daytona high banks and found the rookie Trevor Bayne at the center of it all. Driving the famed No. 21 for the legendary Wood Brothers, Bayne claimed the checkers in the season’s most prestigious race, at the age of 20

“It’s definitely been way more than I expected, “Bayne commented after a media tour that spanned across the country for the Daytona 500 champion. “I was just telling them over here that I knew myself and everybody in our community thought the 500 was a really big deal, “ he said. “We all look forward to it every year, but I just didn’t realize the support we were gonna get from outside our community. The rest of the United States is just really fired up about everything for the Wood Brothers and the history and then the youth part of it. It’s just been a really, really cool week and a humbling experience.”

The Daytona 500 win came on the heels of two other well-run events. Michael Waltrip’s emotional victory in the Camping World Truck Series brought tears to the eyes of many, as he remembered Dale Earnhardt Sr. ten years to the date of his death. Driving the No. 15 tribute to Earnhardt, Waltrip returned to victory lane at Daytona after a last lap pass to secure the win. He was absolutely speechless.

Then, it was Tony Stewart taking the checkers in his fourth consecutive Nationwide Series win on the restrictor plate facility. All three Daytona winners earned no points for their respective wins. And as the teams leave the Cinderella stories behind them, an ugly step-sister was waiting in Phoenix for some of the Daytona top finishers.

Bayne felt the eyes of the world upon him after hitting the wall in practice. His goal of a top 15 finish quickly turned into disaster during the race as well. While working his way toward the front of the field in a backup car, Bayne’s Ford met an untimely fate as he spun out and hit the wall. He would finish 40th.

Kyle Busch claimed two checkered flags in the desert and came up just one spot shy of the three-peat. “It was a rough beginning there for a while for a lot of guys and we were able to persevere and work through it and work on our car and get most out of the day, “ Busch said. “We came back strong and we had a really good car there on the long runs, and on the really long runs we were kind of running those guys down.

But it seemed after the restarts, Jeff was just really, really good. We thought we could beat him after 20 or so laps but he had just so much forward bite today we just could not hang with him,” he continued.

Busch, a previous HMS wheeler himself was gracious to his on track successor. “I think he was on a mission today, that’s for sure and when Jeff Gordon has a good car and he has the opportunity to beat you, he’s going to beat you, “ Busch said. “There’s no doubt about that. He’s my hero and I’ve always watched him and what he’s been able to accomplish over the years. It’s no surprise that he beat us. Congratulations to them, they are my old five bunch, so cool to see them get the win,” he added.

Hendrick Motorsports veteran wheeler Jeff Gordon defeated a sixty-six race winless streak dating back to Texas in 2009, to place his No. 24 machine in victory lane. Running in his nineteenth Sprint Cup season, Gordon has 83 career victories in 619 starts, and a new sponsor. He is driving for AARP and the Drive to End Hunger.

This win tied Gordon for fifth on the all time win list with Cale Yarborough. “How cool is that to tie Yarborough? That is the ultimate. First guy I ever drove a Cup car for was Cale Yarborough,” Gordon said. “A lot of people don’t realize that. Of course, I spun that car that day, too.”

A four-time series champion, Gordon continued, “I have not been in a position to put pressure on the leader to force him to make mistakes and be in control of the situation in a very long time. And that’s what I love so much about today is to be in that position was such a cool feeling,” he said. “And at that moment, you don’t care if it’s Kyle Busch or who it is; you feel like you’re in control of your destiny.”

Alan Gustafson, Gordon’s Crew Chief, is the fifth crew chief to visit victory lane with the wheeler. Making this trip special is a twist of fate. Gustafson and Gordon began working together in the off-season thanks to a structural change inside Hendrick Motorsports.

“I thank Mr. Hendrick for putting me in position to work with drivers of that caliber. There are a lot of people there are going to work their whole lives and never have opportunities like that. “Gustafson said. “I think it’s awesome that I’ve got those chances and to work with Kyle and Mark and now Jeff, they are three Hall of Fame drivers, arguably three of the best ever to drive these cars, and I’m just ecstatic that I’ve got those opportunities.”

More opportunities abound next week as the NASCAR Superstars gamble their way into Sin City. If the first two races are any indication of what is to come, set the DVR recorders now. In true fairy tale fashion, the underdog or winless would win each week, keeping the point hounds at bay. But, before saying they all lived happily ever after, there are 34 more races to finish the season. And while it may be interesting now, it may get even more dramatic before the final checkered flag falls. After all, this is just the beginning.

Just off a whirlwind week of racing at Daytona, NASCAR’s top three series headed for Phoenix for some non superspeedway racing. The Big One at Daytona was left in the mirror, or so everyone thought.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]For the Daytona 500 winner, the charm at Daytona quickly faded with a wrecked car on his first lap of practice. Out came the back up car and young Trevor Bayne began what appeared to be a cautious weekend. Unlike his two previous Cup starts, a poor qualifying run put the youngster back in the field, starting 33rd.

On Saturday Bayne looked forward to the NASCAR Nationwide Series race as he is in the championship hunt in that series. A decent qualifying run put the #16 unsponsored Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang in the 4th row, starting 7th. He showed a strong and steady course although never seen as a challenger to leader Kyle Busch or the pack of Cup regulars up front all day. That steady run came to an abrupt end for Bayne on lap 164 when a flat tire sent the car into the wall. The damage was so extensive it ended Bayne’s night finishing in 31st place. The finish resulted in a drop of six positions in the point standings to 11th.

Kyle Busch led the Basha’s Supermarket 200 from flag to flag with Carl Edwards finishing second. This was without a doubt the most boring NASCAR race so far for 2011 in the top tiers. Most of the race saw the top six positions in running order occupied by Cup series regulars. That situation hardly changed as Reed Sorenson was the top finishing Nationwide driver, finishing 5th, with 5 Cup drivers in the top 6 finishing spots. With the new points program in place, Reed Sorenson is the new leader, five points ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Overnight rains presented a green track on Sunday morning, prompting NASCAR to call for a competition caution on lap 40. The race was under way for 20 laps when debris on the track led to the first caution. On lap 35 Robbie Gordon got a push from behind that sent the #7 dodge spinning across the track. NASCAR took that opportunity to move the competition caution to lap 35.

Lap 50 saw Trevor Bayne turned into the wall ending his day in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. The damage to the #21 Wood Brothers Ford was severe enough that the decision was made to load it up. Ten laps later Kyle Busch would get loose up high, but he saved his car as he bounced off the #99 of Carl Edwards. As Edwards spun, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton all suffered minimal damage. But the Ford Fusion of Edwards would head to the garage for extensive repairs.

The race was only green for 1 lap when the big one came, as Brian Vickers has a left rear tire cut down and spins in front of the pack. Fourteen cars were involved with most of them headed for the garage. Big wrecks at Superspeedways like Daytona are the norm, but at a short track like Phoenix it is rare. With the car count reduced due to attrition, it seemed that things calmed down for a long time as the race stayed green until lap 127 when David Ragan cut a tire crashed and eventually the car went up in flames.

The final 22 laps came down to an intense battle between four time champion Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch who was looking to claim another trifecta after winning both the Truck and Nationwide races. Busch took the lead from Tony Stewart on lap 291 with Gordon in tow. It appeared that Busch was going to run away with the race, but Gordon showed determination and on lap 304 he pushed past the #18 of Busch and never looked back. The win for Gordon brought to an end his 66 race losing streak.

Despite his second place finish, Kyle Busch moved into the point lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, with older brother Kurt second.