BRISTOL, Tenn. (August
19, 2008) - Five-time
Bristol Motor Speedway
winner Jeff Gordon won four
consecutive Spring races
from 1995 to 1998 at the
0.533-mile track, but his
last win here occurred in
2002. That victory ended a
31-race winless streak, and
a win six years later could
end a similar drought. It
has been 28 races since
Gordon last visited Victory
Lane -- at Charlotte in
2007.
The 81-time winner is
ninth in the point
standings, however, and 82
points ahead of 13th
with three races
remaining before the
12-driver "Chase for the
NASCAR Sprint Cup" field is
set. Team DuPont is
determined to go "all out"
to earn a spot in the
"Chase" beginning with
Saturday night's Sharpie
500.
"We had a great car at
Michigan, but obviously did
not get the result we were
looking for," said Gordon,
who finished 42nd after a
cut tire sent the No. 24 car
into the turn 2 wall.
"We dropped positions in
the standings, and now we
have to enter the next few
races with a different
mindset. "Before, we were in
a position where taking
risks wasn't an option. We
had a pretty comfortable
margin on the transfer spot,
and we didn't want to
jeopardize that.
"We're not in that
position anymore, so now we
must go all out and see
where we end up." Along with
his five victories, Gordon
has five poles, 12 top-fives
and 18 top-10 finishes in 31
starts at the high-banked
short track. But the
four-time NASCAR Cup Series
champion has yet to finish
in the top 10 since changes
to the track were introduced
before this race last year.
"We haven't been as good
here since they re-did the
track, but I do like what
they've done," said Gordon.
"I'm looking forward to
the race and I'm confident
this DuPont team will
perform better. "Bristol
used to be a one-groove race
track where it was a little
bit of Russian roulette. But
now, we've got multiple
grooves and I love it. I
think the racing is three
times better.
"Crashes don't happen as
much. You're still going to
see them but not as often as
you used to. When it was a
one-groove track, drivers
would get frustrated with
the car in front of them and
just take them out. And
that's not racing, in my
opinion - it's more
bumper-cars. "Now, we're
going to Bristol and we're
racing." And racing for a
spot in the "Chase."
