The
California native is an eight-time winner at the venerable Virginia half-mile,
and said today that he couldn’t be happy to return there this weekend.
“I
can honestly say, never has (Martinsville) been more important than this
weekend,” he said. “I haven’t gone back through the stats of exactly what this
track meant to my championship runs in the past, I just knew that it has always
been a track that I’ve had confidence in. Our cars are good, our team is solid
here and we come in believing that we have a chance at winning.
“This
weekend, with the way this format is… I don’t feel like we’re in a ‘must win’
situation. I think we’re in a situation where this is a great track where we
can win. But getting a really good finish and getting started off right is also
important. So we’re very focused on this track. We tested here and we’ve had a
good day so far. Hopefully we can end the day on a positive note, continue to
carry the momentum we have here in Martinsville and really put our stamp on our…
chances for Homestead.”
Asked
if he feels lonely after having all three of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates
eliminated from title contention last weekend at Talladega, Gordon said, “I
don’t. We always share information, work together and have our debriefs. The
crew chiefs are constantly talking about set-ups and how to get better as we go
into each race weekend. I feel like that will continue.
“I
think that the only difference is that we’re not racing them for the
championship. When you race for a championship, every split second counts and
you race one another extremely hard. And if those guys have a chance at winning
they’re still going to race hard. (But) beyond that, they’re very supportive.
“They’ve
mentioned to me already of how much they want to see us get that championship.
So, it’s great to have their support.”
Gordon
said he is unsure whether the three former Sprint Cup Series champions still in
the 2014 hunt will have an advantage the rest of the way.
“It’s
me, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth,” he said. “My championships were won
under a completely different format (and) all of them were under a different
format than this one, So, I don’t know if it gives an advantage to anybody. The
team that handles pressure well and (has) these upcoming tracks suit them well;
those are the ones with the advantage.
The
four (teams) that have been the strongest teams all year long are in there. That’s
the No. 22 (Joey Logano), the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski), the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick),
and ourselves.
“I’m
not saying that’s going to be who makes it to Homestead, but those, to me, are
the teams that have the best chance.”
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but if Jeff makes it to Homestead as one of the top four, I'd love to see a Rainbow Warrior paint scheme on his car. I know it couldn't be DuPont, but I'm sure the Fight to End Hunger folks could come up with something acceptable. Jeff's been turning back time all year, this would be a great culmination.
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