NASCAR: Five Reasons Jeff Gordon Makes Final Four

3 of 6

Oct 4, 2015; Dover, DE, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon (24) races during the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O

Gordon’s strategy to lay low is similar to Ryan Newman’s in 2014.

In 2014, Ryan Newman made it to the final round of the Chase without any wins at all. With a combination of top-15, top-10, and top-5 finishes he was able to ride through the Chase until the last race, when he unloaded everything and finished second, falling just short of a championship.

Jeff Gordon has done much of the same this season. Though he hasn’t been trying to lay low, his finishes look at lot like Newman’s in 2014. He finished somewhere between 5 and 15 throughout most of the regular season. Then the real battle started in the Chase. Though everyone wants to win in the Chase, sometimes they have to lay back and take the points that they have instead of forcing the issue.

More from Beyond the Flag

Gordon finished 14th, 7th and 12th in the first round of the Chase and that didn’t just barely get him through, it actually moved him all the way up to 9th place in the standings. Instead of being more aggressive, his lay-low style worked and didn’t cause him to get into any wrecks or run out of gas like other drivers did.

That was the case in Dover. Late in the race his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, was telling him to stay near the top 10 because they would move on. Towards the end of the race, he actually gave a few spots away to some drivers who were trying to bolt to the front and he still made the Chase with points to spare. This strategy, as we saw in 2014, can work if you know how to use it.

Next: Advantages Are There To Be Had

Home/Jeff Gordon