Saturday, July 15, 2006
Closing in: One more win and Jeff Gordon will reach a milestone that even he finds amazing. Gordon's next victory will match the 76 career victories by the late Dale Earnhardt, who some consider the greatest driver in NASCAR history. "To me ... Dale is the best I've ever raced against. To match up to something that he's done and just to be one away from it is an honor," Gordon said. "The thing that I admired so much about him is the fact that he won over so many years [with the] cars changing, the sport changing, different drivers coming in and out of the sport and yet he always continued to find a way to get to Victory Lane and battle for championships. I think, when you look at the span of time that he was able to do that, that's very impressive." Earnhardt, sixth on NASCAR's all-time victory list, died in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500. Like Earnhardt, Gordon is a driver who is either loved or hated by the fans. Those who love the four-time series champion can't wait for him to get that next win. The haters would prefer he never get it. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is OK with the situation. "It's a very good accomplishment for anybody," Junior said. "I'd have to shake Jeff's hand because anytime you tie my daddy in anything, it's something to be proud of." The elder Earnhardt, a seven-time series champion, was known as a very aggressive driver, earning the nickname "The Intimidator." Gordon has had a softer reputation, although his latest victory came with a controversial late-race bump that sent Matt Kenseth spinning out of his way. "Well dad was really aggressive and Jeff wasn't very aggressive," Earnhardt Jr. said when asked to compare their driving styles. "It seems like [Gordon] is getting more aggressive as he gets older. But Jeff is really, really smooth, where dad was very sort of barbaric with the race car. They are very different in their driving styles." Gordon said he doesn't want to talk too much about matching Earnhardt's victory total. "I want to get to 76 before I talk about it," he said. "Even if I don't get another one, I'm still overwhelmed and will be very satisfied."
No comfort zone: Jimmie Johnson has led the Cup standings most of the year and still holds a 51-point lead over runner-up Matt Kenseth, the only driver with a legitimate chance of catching Johnson before the start of the Chase for the championship. But Johnson said he isn't feeling totally comfortable. "Yeah, I'm still worrying about every race, every track, especially coming here because it's the first race of the Chase [in September]," Johnson said. "I just want everything to be right and keep making our cars better, not be comfortable, not be content where we are, try to keep new technology coming, try to learn new things I can do inside the car to go faster when the Chase starts." Still, he isn't under a whole lot of stress -- yet. "My stress really hasn't been there yet because we've been fortunate and been up front," Johnson said. "In a few weeks, the stress is really going to show when the Chase starts."
Patience, patience: Two-time series champion Tony Stewart points out that some drivers, particularly the Cup newcomers, could use more patience. "I still, to this day, say the worst thing that happened to the Cup series is when Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte quit running the Busch Series regularly," Stewart said. "You learned a lot about patience and you learned about give and take." The veteran racer said young drivers used to have to start out struggling in poor equipment and learning how to race. "Now, there are so many young guys that are coming up through the truck series, the Busch series and ARCA and USAC," Stewart said. "They don't spend enough time in the Busch Series and the truck series and they don't learn anything about patience. "Then," he added, "they get to the Cup series and they get in really good cars and they're running up front and they don't have to learn about give and take."
Associated Press
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