The Final Word on Phoenix where Gordon wound up with the final say
So, what did we learn at Phoenix?
Well, we learned that Chad Knaus sucks as a predictor of events. Expect few cautions, he said prior to the race, and within 70 laps more than half the field were dinged. That did not include Joey Logano, who had an engine going south early and blowing up late. A lot of the early victims did manage to return eventually to run laps while down by ten, twenty, or more, but they did come back.
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[/media-credit]We also learned that one can come back from a 66 race drought and win again. Jeff Gordon got by Kyle Busch with a slight love tap and hurried along to keep out of range to snap the winless streak. It also brought to an end Busch’s Phoenix streak of winning, after he claimed races Friday and Saturday before having to settle for a lousy runner-up finish on Sunday. As for Gordon, a bit of justice for a little mishap that could have ended his day more than 250 laps earlier.
We learned that one can wiggle and pretty much eliminate Carl Edwards from contention. Shrub sends Edwards to the curb, who in turns ride Jeff Gordon into the fence. Gordon recovered, Edwards did not. Just an accident, just a little loss of control, or something more conspiratorial?
We learned that while Team Hendrick had its problems at Daytona, the boys would finish first, third (Jimmie Johnson), tenth (Dale Earnhardt Jr), and thirteenth (Mark Martin) in Arizona. I’m sure we are all so glad their misfortunes have finally come to an end.
We learned that Trevor Bayne went from last week’s thrill of victory to the weekend’s agony of defeat. Fifty laps in, he tried to duck into a hole that wasn’t quite big enough and thus ended his day. The good news is that he picked up the same amount of points for finishing 40th as he did for winning.
We learned that Daytona and Talladega are not the only tracks that can feature a Big One. Lap 67, and 13 autos got tangled up when Brian Vickers went sideways and those behind shunted like railcars in a freight yard. Burton, Bowyer, Smith, and Reutimann were among those who started looking ahead to Las Vegas.
We learned that we were seeing entries being banged up, on average, one every third lap. If that had continued, we would have been watching a whole lot of nothing by Lap 130.
We learned that Kyle Busch, like it or not, is the Intimidator’s successor. Who else can drive like he figures each race is his to win, and be damned to all who gets in his way? Who else can make you smile when he wins, and maybe smile even bigger when he gets wrecked? He leads nearly half of all the laps run in three races, wins two and finishes second in the other, and makes us believe that it is not out of the ordinary. Next Sunday, he returns to his hometown track.
Sunday, it is the bright lights of Las Vegas that beckon us. It is a track the aforementioned Mr. Busch won at in 2009, a year after the aforementioned Mr. Edwards did the same thing. Of course, it is the same track one certain Mr. Johnson has won four of the past six, including one year ago, for combined winnings of more than $20-million. No doubt, Five Time is one of the few who goes to Vegas and comes away with more than he spent. Enjoy the week.
Gordon’s Return To Victory Lane More Than Just Another Win
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.
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[/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.
