April 13, 2009
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Jeff Gordon finally wins a race at Texas Motor Speedway, a track where he has never won a race before, and all of a sudden he is the
greatest driver in the history of NASCAR?
Sure, winning at every venue on the NASCAR schedule would be an impressive feat, if Gordon can pull it off. He still has never won a race
at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Despite that fact that Gordon finally won at Texas, the track has always been his Achilles heel. The only two times he has ever finished a
race dead last, in 43rd position, came at Texas, and Gordon is the first to admit that he just hasn’t figured the track out.
“I would say 90 percent of the tracks we go to, I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do in the car and what I need to do as a driver
to get around that track and be fast. I think that's what's helped contribute to our success. I'm telling you, at Texas, I'm just lost,”
Gordon was quoted as saying in a David Caraviello article for nascar.com.
Winning at all of the different types of tracks in NASCAR certainly proves a driver’s ability to master different driving conditions, from
ovals to road courses and from superspeedways to short tracks. But it’s not as if Gordon is the only one on the verge of accomplishing the
feat.
Tony Stewart has won at every venue in NASCAR (there currently are 22 different tracks) but three, Darlington, Las Vegas, and Fontana.
NASCAR’s current 3-time defending Champion, Jimmie Johnson, only has six tracks that he has never won at, and Johnson is in the prime of
his career, whereas Gordon is in the twilight of his.
Johnson has already won 41 Cup races; half of Gordon’s total of 82, while competing in less than half the number of races that Gordon has
raced, 262 races to Gordon’s 552 races.
Of course, while three more wins would move Gordon into third place on the all-time win list, something he could certainly accomplish this
season, he will more than likely never come close to the Silver Fox David Pearson who has 105 race wins and sits in second place to Richard
Petty’s 200 wins.
However, if Gordon, Stewart, or Johnson wants to be able to brag about winning at every track on the schedule, they should hurry. There is
talk that Montreal might be added to the schedule to replace Watkins Glen, and Bruton Smith continues to lobby for his Kentucky track to be
added to the Cup schedule.
Conversely, winning at every track on the NASCAR schedule is not that big a deal, particularly if new tracks are added next season.
Several tracks have been added to or removed from the NASCAR schedule over the years. It’s much more impressive to win at every different
type of track than it is to win at every single venue. Sure, it’s an interesting footnote on a career, but not enough in itself to make a
driver great.
Did Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt win at every track on the NASCAR schedule in their day? No, but they are recognized as the two
greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR. They both won seven Cup titles during their illustrious careers, a record that will likely
never be broken.
Jeff Gordon is certainly an outstanding driver who has had a spectacular career. After all, winning four Championships is quite an
accomplishment. But is he in the same league as Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty? Not quite, or at least, not yet.
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
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