Jeff Gordon Talks Lucky Number 13 And Credibility
Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports
Written by Stephen Conley
September 14th, 2013
How does a four time Champion get notified that he is part of an unprecedented decision that will affect not only the balance of his season but the sport in general? Watching TV and hearing the announcement on Fox Sports 1 of course. After NASCAR made the decision to add a 13th car to the 2013 Chase Jeff Met with the Media to give his thoughts on all that has transpired.
Gordon said they came into today just focused on running well and putting together a solid race regardless of what was going on. I’ll admit it, it’s been a rough week. It was a log of up and downs of emotions for this entire team. They’ve been thru a lot, but the thing I love about this team is they NEVER give up, Gordon emphatically stated.
That never give up attitude put Gordon into a position to be a part of the post season at Richmond, just like 2012 “we went thru a lot through a lot last year, and we got to play it out to the final lap of the race. This year they did not, due to foul play.
That foul play has brought the credibility of the sport into question all week long and it took Mike Helton and Brian France saying we are going to make things clear so that our credibility is not question. This meeting between drivers, owners and crew chiefs has Gordon quite excited.
"“I’m excited about that meeting tomorrow. I am.” Gordon does believe they are going to get a stern reprimand, because in his mind, “it doesn’t all lie on NASCAR.”"
Gordon like many fans think the events of last week have hurt the integrity of NASCAR. I think we have one of the greatest sports that exists. To see our integrity question is very upsetting to me, and I think we along with NASCAR have to solve this. Gordon said he communicated with Mike Helton on Monday night, but he knew they were reaching out to probably a lot of individuals. I gave my opinion to them, some of the penalties and things I agreed with, some I didn’t. I just said I’m ready to get to Chicago and go race. That’s all I’ve done this week—and a few tweets, Gordon said.
A few tweets that certainly got a lot of attention, Gordon sent out one saying that he felt worse for Ryan Newman than himself after the initial issues. Then he felt bad for Martin Truex after Truex was pulled from the Chase. A very passionate driver and an even more passionate wife, Gordon’s Wife Ingrid was tweeting late in the week about the frustration that she felt for her husband. “My wife is very passionate and supportive, Gordon said. Trust me, I said no to her a lot more than the ones I said yes to. So I’m just glad that these days she seems to at least run it by me before she says it.
Now that Gordon has been added to the chase does as the 13th seed and makes Hendrick Motorsports the only team with all of their cars in the chase. Can Gordon refocus this team and make a run for the Championship?
So now that the field is officially set—or so we believe, who knows what may continue to happen as we move forward. Gordon goes in to Chicago 15 points back of the leader Matt Kenseth. Gordon is now playing with house money as one reporter said to him today. Can he go on and win it?
Gordon said you have to walk before you can run, but I will say this has lit a fire under us. “This is really a good track for us, speaking of Chicago. New Hampshire is great for us as well as Martinsville”. Phoenix and Kansas are the two tracks that concern Gordon and his team the most out of the final ten. I’m excited. I know we haven’t shown it yet this year, but this team is ready to show it now. We belong here and there is a reason why were in this thing.
Gordon certainly has some opinions and as a veteran of this sport and future Hall of Famer, he certainly should have them. The decisions of some didn’t just hurt the sport, it hurt it’s fans, it’s teams and it’s drivers.
13 isn’t so lucky, unless your name is Jeff Gordon. The 13th seed in the 2013 chase placed on Friday the 13th. It’s either going to be a complete disaster or people will be betting 13 in Vegas for years to come.