Swan Song – Can Jeff Gordon Win Title In Final Season?
By Mike Hutton
The Eliminator Round – Goal: Leave no doubt
Martinsville Speedway: Take care of business now. Don’t rely on Texas or Phoenix. You have seen what can fall apart quickly at both of those venues. Use your love of one of NASCAR’s legacy tracks and your amazing record here to answer any doubts about what you intend to earn in mid-November. Win, please.
Texas Motor Speedway: Will depend on Martinsville outcome. He might have won last fall without the incident with the No. 2 car. If he needs to run that way again, he’s proven the No. 24 team is capable of doing so. If Martinsville ends with a trip to victory lane, the pressure will be off somewhat and he can start pacing himself to prepare for Miami.
Phoenix International Raceway: Ever since the 2012 incident with Clint Bowyer, Gordon has run in the top 10 here in three of four races, and has shown improvement from 9th to 5th to 2nd in those events. Similar to Texas, if he needs to be aggressive, he can and will need to be so. If he’s already locked in for the Chase, he’ll just have to be smart about it and take what the car, track and competition will give him and nothing more.