July 20, 2005

By Rebecca Gladden

Prior to the start of Sunday's New England 300 at Loudon, Jeff Gordon wasn't talking.

Tough Times For Gordon

He snubbed the media on TNT's "Countdown to Green" show, choosing not to participate in the customary pre-race interview. "Today, (Jeff Gordon) elected to focus on the race rather than come out earlier and speak with us," host Bill Weber explained. "That's his prerogative, because right now, he knows he's got a lot of work to do."

On Gordon's to-do list: Resuscitate a team that was coming off a heartbreaking 33rd-place finish at Chicago and that, with nine races left in the regular season, was at real peril of missing the Chase for the Championship.

In the week leading up to New Hampshire, pundits had identified it as a make-or-break race for the 24 team.

The season had started off full of promise for Gordon with a victory in the Daytona 500; he had three wins in the first nine races with an average finish of 13.1, and was third in points overall.

But the bottom fell out of his season in the second nine races. His average finish during that period was 24.8, with six finishes of 30th or worse. He plummeted 12 spots in the points to 15th.

While Gordon may not have been feeling chatty prior to Sunday's race, he probably also hoped to avoid questions about a rumored altercation with driver Mike Bliss a few days early. Bliss had gotten into the back of the 24 on Lap 250 in Chicago, putting Gordon in the wall and ending his day. Rumors swirled all week that Gordon had confronted Bliss in a Chicago airport and socked him in the eye.

On Friday, Gordon brushed off the allegation: "Whatever happened between Mike Bliss and me, we're going to work it out on our own. I don't think it's anything that's worth even discussing. As far as I'm concerned, it's over with."

For him, maybe.

But the story of a four-time Cup champion giving another driver a black eye was too compelling for the media to ignore. During the pre-race, Weber stated that NASCAR had investigated a post-race incident between the two drivers which involved "one punch being thrown," and that officials had been assured any conflict between the two was behind them.

So Gordon was all business Sunday in Loudon, starting the race from the 24th position. He ran solidly in the top 10 for most of the day and was battling for fifth with just 15 laps to go.

Just one lap later, he was on the radio to crew chief Robbie Loomis, reporting that his brakes were going away.

"You're running sixth," said Loomis, encouraging Gordon to try to nurse the brakes till the race's end. "We'll be okay. We'll still get a top-10."

"I don't have brakes!" an exasperated Gordon shot back. "What are you talking about?"

And with that, Gordon's fate was sealed. He dropped all the way back to 25th and, adding insult to injury, was lapped by race winner Tony Stewart en route to the checkers.

"The pedal just went to the floor," a dejected Gordon said after the race. "We were done."

Even competitor Greg Biffle, who finished fifth, interrupted his post-race interview to lament Gordon's situation. "I feel so bad for Jeff Gordon," Biffle said. "He had another great car."

Both Biffle and Gordon's Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson made gains in the points standings Sunday, raising the bar for the 400-point Chase cutoff from tenth to ninth. Gordon is still in 15th after Loudon, but fell 36 points further behind points leader Johnson.

Prior to Sunday's race, Gordon had defended crew chief Robbie Loomis, the target of criticism for a number of Gordon's bad finishes. "At no time have I doubted Robbie," Gordon said, adding, "there have been times when I've doubted myself."

It's hard to imagine a guy with 72 career Cup victories doubting himself. But a season like he's had can do that. "Just walking into the garage and seeing where your truck is, can mess with your mind,'' Gordon said, referring to the 24 hauler parked in a garage for competitor's outside the top 10.

Winning in NASCAR's Cup series requires just the right mix of intangibles, including confidence, momentum and luck, all of which seem to be eluding the 24 team right now. Still, Kurt Busch showed on Sunday that it is possible to make big gains in short order, moving up five spots from tenth to fifth - the same number of spots Gordon would need to gain in the next seven races to make the Chase.

For that to happen, Jeff Gordon needs all the breaks he can get.

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. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.