Lack of focus? Not for Gordon
Jeff Owens / Special to FOXSports.com
If you still thought Jeff Gordon had lost his focus and desire, all you had to do was examine the look on his face after he finished second to teammate Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.
Gordon was not happy, far from it.
He was not happy with Johnson for blocking his path to the lead.
He was not happy with himself for his inability to move Johnson out of the way.
And he was not happy with NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow for making it more difficult to use your bumper to pass on a short track, something Gordon has never been afraid to do.
It's probably a good thing for Gordon, Johnson and NASCAR that there was about a five- to 10-minute delay between the time Gordon climbed from his car and when FOX announcers finally interviewed him. By then, Gordon had calmed considerably and had time to collect his thoughts.
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Gordon typically owns Martinsville Speedway, and he was in position to win for the eighth time there Sunday. That he didn't was a major disappointment, something you don't usually see from a driver who is not focused and doesn't really care if he wins again.
That, of course, has been the knock on Gordon for the past five years, when he has slipped a bit from the performance that led to four Cup championships from 1995-2001.
Gordon, 35, won 58 races in the first nine years of his Cup career. He has won just 17 in the last five and has finished 11th and sixth in points the past two years, leading many to conclude that either his remarkable driving skill has diminished a bit or that he is not as focused or as driven as he used to be.
The latter argument merely picked up steam when Gordon got married last year and again when he confirmed that he and wife Ingrid are expecting their first child.
For some reason, many believe that a wife and baby will, or have, sapped Gordon's desire to win races or another championship.
But Gordon proved Sunday that that sort of thinking is a bit shortsighted. When he was banging on the bumper of Johnson, stopping just short of wrecking him in a desperate attempt to get the lead, it wasn't the move of a man who is not driven to succeed.
"I basically had to wreck him to win it and I'm not going to wreck my teammate for a win," Gordon said.
Afterward, he was not happy with his close friend for blocking him when it was clear that Gordon had the faster car.
"I will tell you what," Gordon said, "there is going to be some interesting racing going forward. He blocked me really bad."
Gordon has won 75 Cup races, seven of them at Martinsville. It is highly unlikely that he would be so upset with one that got away if he was not still focused on winning or if he were a bit lackadaisical about his performance.
Instead, based on his fast start to the 2007 season, he is determined to prove that the opposite is true.
In six races, Gordon has three second-place finishes, four top-fives and five top-10s. He leads the points standings by 28 over Jeff Burton and 60 over Johnson, the defending champion.
Though he is happy with the fast start and happy to be leading the points, Gordon is more concerned about winning right now.
"Having some bonus points for winning right now is not what it's all about," he says. "I'm more motivated just to want to win."
Gordon has heard all the talk questioning his commitment and he is, no doubt, determined to prove his detractors wrong.
He showed that on Sunday, and through the first six races of the season. Clearly, he is not a driver who has lost his desire or who is too distracted to be focused on winning.
Instead, he seems focused on winning a fifth Cup championship.
Jeff Owens / Special to FOXSports.com
If you still thought Jeff Gordon had lost his focus and desire, all you had to do was examine the look on his face after he finished second to teammate Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.
Gordon was not happy, far from it.
He was not happy with Johnson for blocking his path to the lead.
He was not happy with himself for his inability to move Johnson out of the way.
And he was not happy with NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow for making it more difficult to use your bumper to pass on a short track, something Gordon has never been afraid to do.
It's probably a good thing for Gordon, Johnson and NASCAR that there was about a five- to 10-minute delay between the time Gordon climbed from his car and when FOX announcers finally interviewed him. By then, Gordon had calmed considerably and had time to collect his thoughts.
For more news from the track and the shop, check out our NASCAR Scene headlines page.
Get NASCAR Scene headlines
Gordon typically owns Martinsville Speedway, and he was in position to win for the eighth time there Sunday. That he didn't was a major disappointment, something you don't usually see from a driver who is not focused and doesn't really care if he wins again.
That, of course, has been the knock on Gordon for the past five years, when he has slipped a bit from the performance that led to four Cup championships from 1995-2001.
Gordon, 35, won 58 races in the first nine years of his Cup career. He has won just 17 in the last five and has finished 11th and sixth in points the past two years, leading many to conclude that either his remarkable driving skill has diminished a bit or that he is not as focused or as driven as he used to be.
The latter argument merely picked up steam when Gordon got married last year and again when he confirmed that he and wife Ingrid are expecting their first child.
For some reason, many believe that a wife and baby will, or have, sapped Gordon's desire to win races or another championship.
But Gordon proved Sunday that that sort of thinking is a bit shortsighted. When he was banging on the bumper of Johnson, stopping just short of wrecking him in a desperate attempt to get the lead, it wasn't the move of a man who is not driven to succeed.
"I basically had to wreck him to win it and I'm not going to wreck my teammate for a win," Gordon said.
Afterward, he was not happy with his close friend for blocking him when it was clear that Gordon had the faster car.
"I will tell you what," Gordon said, "there is going to be some interesting racing going forward. He blocked me really bad."
Gordon has won 75 Cup races, seven of them at Martinsville. It is highly unlikely that he would be so upset with one that got away if he was not still focused on winning or if he were a bit lackadaisical about his performance.
Instead, based on his fast start to the 2007 season, he is determined to prove that the opposite is true.
In six races, Gordon has three second-place finishes, four top-fives and five top-10s. He leads the points standings by 28 over Jeff Burton and 60 over Johnson, the defending champion.
Though he is happy with the fast start and happy to be leading the points, Gordon is more concerned about winning right now.
"Having some bonus points for winning right now is not what it's all about," he says. "I'm more motivated just to want to win."
Gordon has heard all the talk questioning his commitment and he is, no doubt, determined to prove his detractors wrong.
He showed that on Sunday, and through the first six races of the season. Clearly, he is not a driver who has lost his desire or who is too distracted to be focused on winning.
Instead, he seems focused on winning a fifth Cup championship.
