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Is Jeff Gordon’s Back Pain Affecting his On-track Performance?

An Opinion



August 18, 2009

By Allen Madding

Allen Madding
During the last year of competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series before the switching to the Car of Tomorrow, teams had found the hottest ticket in car setup was the Coil Bind Setup. Basically, a coil bind setup is selecting springs that would totally compress going into the turn causing the car to ride on the suspension but to be completely bottomed out. The coil bind setup improved the speed thru the corners of the tracks and lowered lap times.

Unfortunately for the drivers, coil bind was a harsh setup. The car did not settle on the completely compressed spring gently. When the driver got on the brakes entering the turn, it tended to slam down. With the springs not carrying the load at this point because they were in bind, there was no cushioning for the driver. The driver’s seat is bolted to a metal plate that is welded to the roll cage which is welded to the chassis. So, by effectively eliminating the coil spring to absorb the weight of the car entering the turn, there was nothing to absorb the weight of the car slamming down. So at both ends of the race track for every lap of a race, the driver experienced a harsh bone jarring slam in the seat. A typical 500-lap race meant the driver was experiencing the slam in the spine 1000 times a day. Some drivers withstood the slamming sensation better than others. But some drivers began to experience compressed disc in their lower backs and many were seeing chiropractors on a regular basis.

With the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, NASCAR allowed the use of bump stops to eliminate coil bind. Bump stops are rubber “bumpers” installed in between the A-arm of the front suspension and the frame rail to cushion the collapse of the suspension when the coil spring is compressed to coil bind. So instead of the suspension being completely collapsed and the spring completely collapsed, there is a small cushion of rubber mashed between the car’s frame and the A-arm.

Teams quickly found that the rate of the compressed bump stop was somewhat inconsistent, and subsequently it was hard to tune the suspension with the bump stops. So, the teams experimented until they found bump stops that would totally flatten out and provide the same results as the coil bind setup. The result of the use of a bump stop that completely eliminated the cushioning was the same as coil bind for the drivers – spine compression.

Jeff Gordon has endured back pain for the entire season during 2008 that was if not caused by coil bind and bump stop suspensions, it was definitely aggravated by these suspension setups. The problem has not gone away or been resolved in 2009. Gordon has undergone countless treatments and MRIs. But the pain has continued. His trainer has spent the 2009 season assisting him with back stretching exercises to help with dealing with the issue, but it has not alleviated the problem.

Mark Martin has to undergo surgery for degenerated disc at the end of the 1999 season before coil bind setups were being employed. Other drivers have as well indicating the cars have always been harsh on a driver’s spine. Unfortunately, coil bind and bump stops have simply made matters worse.

As Gordon’s problem has worsened, he underwent a facet block procedure in May hoping to alleviate the chronic back pain that he has deal with over the last two seasons. But, soon after the procedure was completed, it became obvious that the procedure had not resolved Gordon’s issue. Gordon told the press that the MRI had revealed arthritis in his back and some other issues that he chose not to detail. Gordon indicated that doctors had informed him the next step was back surgery and that he felt the procedure was too invasive and would cause him too much down time for him to consider.

But whether Gordon wants to admit it or not, back pain is a distraction that will detract a driver’s full attention during a race. If a driver knows charging off into a corner will cause the car to slam down on the practically eliminated bump stops and transfer a painful disc compression to the driver’s lower back, the driver subconsciously is going to be motivated to not entering the corner as hard has possible. Gordon has even said as much. In an interview with the Washington Post in May of this year, Gordon told Liz Clarke, "A racecar driver -- to be 100 percent focused to make the car go as fast as it can, and to focus on the adjustments you need to make -- you have to be thinking about the car," Gordon said. "You don't want to be thinking about anything else or feeling anything else."

Gordon’s performance during 2008 and the 2009 season have shown that his competitiveness has taken a hit. 2008 was the first season that the four-time champion did not record a win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 1993. While recording a win this season, Gordon seems to be outperformed by teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson.

Gordon now has some hard decisions to make over the short winter offseason. Does he want to consider the back surgery and recovery period associated with it, or does he want to begin to contemplate retirement? He could certainly retire as a driver and not have financial concerns, but doing so would effectively end his pursuit to tie or break the seven-time championship record of Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt.

You can contact Allen Madding at .. Insider Racing News
You Can Read Other Articles By Allen Madding

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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