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KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Jeff Gordon scoffs at the notion that Robbie Loomis' job is in jeopardy, as has been speculated -- and continually discounted -- in recent weeks.
Gordon said Saturday at Kansas Speedway that Loomis is at Hendrick Motorsports for the long haul, regardless what anyone thinks they know.
"It cracks me up," Gordon said. "I was on MRN (radio) the other night and somebody called in and asked, 'Is it true Chad Knaus is going to be your crew chief next year?' It's just ridiculous. It's so funny.
"I'm thrilled with Robbie being in there, I think our chemistry is good, and Jimmie certainly wouldn't be willing to give Chad up. There's no changes -- that kind of a major change (anyway) -- that's coming. I believe in Robbie and I believe in the team that we have."
Though Gordon has just one victory this season, he has tallied as many top-five finishes (10) as championship points leader Matt Kenseth, and as many top-10s (14) as second place Kevin Harvick.
But five DNFs -- as many as the past two seasons combined -- have hampered him.
Moreover, a recent six-race stretch has been utterly brutal. Heading into the season's 20th event, the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono, Gordon ranked second in the standings, and trailed Kenseth by just 165 points.
But from Pocono to Darlington, Gordon finished 30th or worse four times.
Subsequently, he's fallen to sixth in the standings, 520 points behind Kenseth. Fans quickly forget why.
They want answers. Fingers are pointed and rumors start to fly.
"Our fans are very strong-minded and very loyal, and what happens is, when I'm not winning, they want to take everything around me and change it," Gordon said. "It's gotta be the car. It's gotta be the engine. It's gotta be Robbie. It's gotta be the pit crew.
"It's never Jeff. At times it is, and at times it is somebody on the team, but I really honestly can't say that the things that have happened to us this year are one guy's fault.
"When we make decisions, we make them together and we either win or lose together. There's no one person that has put us in the position that we're in."
Needless to say, Gordon still has plenty of confidence in the crew chief that led Gordon to the 2001 championship.
"I think Robbie is a great crew chief and I like the way he and I work together, and I like the confidence he has in me and I like the confidence I have in him," Gordon said. "As a whole, we did lose a little confidence because of that month or six races that we had, and that was tough to handle.
"What I love is that I think we're a lot stronger today now that we've had two top fives in a row after that stretch of six races. If you can make it through that, it makes you a much better team.
"Certainly, none of that has gone on in the team as far as those kinds of rumblings, but I know that is something that happens, sort of gossipy, outside the race team."
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At least Jeff has more confidence in Robbie Loomis than I do. As I have said before, that team won a championship with Robbie but I really think Jeff won it in spite of Loomis, not because of him.
Gordon said Saturday at Kansas Speedway that Loomis is at Hendrick Motorsports for the long haul, regardless what anyone thinks they know.
"It cracks me up," Gordon said. "I was on MRN (radio) the other night and somebody called in and asked, 'Is it true Chad Knaus is going to be your crew chief next year?' It's just ridiculous. It's so funny.
"I'm thrilled with Robbie being in there, I think our chemistry is good, and Jimmie certainly wouldn't be willing to give Chad up. There's no changes -- that kind of a major change (anyway) -- that's coming. I believe in Robbie and I believe in the team that we have."
Though Gordon has just one victory this season, he has tallied as many top-five finishes (10) as championship points leader Matt Kenseth, and as many top-10s (14) as second place Kevin Harvick.
But five DNFs -- as many as the past two seasons combined -- have hampered him.
Moreover, a recent six-race stretch has been utterly brutal. Heading into the season's 20th event, the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono, Gordon ranked second in the standings, and trailed Kenseth by just 165 points.
But from Pocono to Darlington, Gordon finished 30th or worse four times.
Subsequently, he's fallen to sixth in the standings, 520 points behind Kenseth. Fans quickly forget why.
They want answers. Fingers are pointed and rumors start to fly.
"Our fans are very strong-minded and very loyal, and what happens is, when I'm not winning, they want to take everything around me and change it," Gordon said. "It's gotta be the car. It's gotta be the engine. It's gotta be Robbie. It's gotta be the pit crew.
"It's never Jeff. At times it is, and at times it is somebody on the team, but I really honestly can't say that the things that have happened to us this year are one guy's fault.
"When we make decisions, we make them together and we either win or lose together. There's no one person that has put us in the position that we're in."
Needless to say, Gordon still has plenty of confidence in the crew chief that led Gordon to the 2001 championship.
"I think Robbie is a great crew chief and I like the way he and I work together, and I like the confidence he has in me and I like the confidence I have in him," Gordon said. "As a whole, we did lose a little confidence because of that month or six races that we had, and that was tough to handle.
"What I love is that I think we're a lot stronger today now that we've had two top fives in a row after that stretch of six races. If you can make it through that, it makes you a much better team.
"Certainly, none of that has gone on in the team as far as those kinds of rumblings, but I know that is something that happens, sort of gossipy, outside the race team."
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At least Jeff has more confidence in Robbie Loomis than I do. As I have said before, that team won a championship with Robbie but I really think Jeff won it in spite of Loomis, not because of him.
