Jeff Gordon Wins Again

47 races ago, Jeff Gordon sat in Victory Lane in Charlotte. It was October of 2007, and I was sitting in my dorm room anxiously watching the race. He was in the heat of the Chase at that time, running up against his teammate, Jimmie Johnson for the championship. They battled it out for the next few weeks, and Johnson won the championship. It was heartbreaking, but after a solid, record breaking season in 2007, I never expected the next win to come 47 races later. To put this in perspective for those of you who know me, I was sitting in my old dorm room, pre-tornado.

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So I never thought that 2008 would be a winless season for Gordon. I expected him to go out and win again easily. I expected him to make another run for the championship. He did make the Chase, but that was about it. Then, at the end of the season, he began running well again. The team began making some gains, and they figured some things out about the new car. I knew then that the 2009 season would be different. I knew that Gordon would eventually find his way back to Victory Lane.

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But 2009 has started out better than I expected. Gordon has been the points leader for most of the season. Out of 7 races, he has led at least 1 lap in all 7. He has finished in the top ten 6 times and in the top five 5 times. And now he has 1 win on top of all that while he still protects the points lead. The season is looking good for him, and he is ready to make yet another run at the championship this year. Will 2009 be the year that the "Drive for Five" is complete?

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About this win, Gordon has never been good at Texas. He has never one there, and Texas was only 1 of 2 tracks that he was winless at, the other being Homestead. In fact, he has only finished 43rd a handful of times, and 2 of those have come from Texas, one being last spring. When the race started he took the lead in the first lap and led for a while. But then I watched him slowly go backwards. I feared that this was just going to be another Texas race for Gordon. The team made some changes, and they made an over correction on the car. I thought that it might be over. But as the race progressed, they began to get the car in line. And in the closing laps, Gordon was back up front. For the first time ever at Texas, I felt like Jeff actually had a chance to win. And then he pulled it off!

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In one race, Gordon broke a 47 race losing streak, but just as amazing, he broke his winless record at Texas. It took him 17 attempts, but he finally posted a win in Texas. So is Gordon back? My answer is yes. He has been good these past few years, and 2007 looked to be a promising season. But this 2009 season is looking even better. In fact, it reminds me of the late '90s when Gordon dominated. So maybe, just maybe, this will be the season that Gordon gets that 5th championship.

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Matt