By: Toby Christie
65 races… That’s how long Jeff Gordon’s current win-less drought (the longest of his career)
There was a time when people booed Jeff Gordon for winning too much, well now he finds himself in the position where people are trying to will him into victory lane.
It happens in every generation as the torch is passed. It once was Petty on top of the sport, he passed the torch to a brash youngster who was wreckless in Dale Earnhardt and the fans weren’t originally on his side. Earnhardt then gained the hearts of the fans as he passed the torch to a young man from California who didn’t fit the typical NASCAR mold at the time, I’m of course talking about none other than Jeff Gordon.
What we are seeing now is the passing of the torch from Gordon to his protoge Jimmie Johnson. The majority of fans chant “Anyone but 48″ nowadays, while Gordon has now become a sentimental favorite.
However he has more than just fans behind him, there is a fire burning deep inside Jeff Gordon. The four-time Sprint Cup Series champion wants to win badly, and he even proved that by throwing fisticuffs for the first time in his Sprint Cup career after Jeff Burton crashed him at Texas. In all Gordon was in contention to win more than 10 times last season, only to come up empty at season’s end.
Pit strategy, double-file restarts, and just plain old bad luck caused Gordon to roll the proverbial snake eyes in 2010.
However 2011 comes with a new beginning, new hopes and new swagger. Steve Letarte has been relieved of his duties as the crew chief of the No. 24 car for the new year. Alan Gustafson who led Mark Martin to a five win season in 2009 and a second-place finish in the point standings, will now be turning the wrenches for Gordon.
The crew chief isn’t all that is new for Gordon in 2011. He will also have a new primary sponsor in The Drive To End Hunger, and not only is that an AARP program, but it should also be the slogan for Gordon’s year. He once lived by the addage “Refuse To Lose” but now after so many losses recently Gordon has to be hungrier than ever. It is time for him to put an end to that hunger this year.
Gordon will look to get things started on a strong note in the Daytona 500, which is a race he has won three times in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career (1997, 1999 and 2005).
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Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
