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August 02, 2008
Gordon, Stewart still winless
By DAVID GREEN
All but obscured in the outrage over tire problems in last weekend's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was the fact that Kyle Busch didn't win, and Jimmie Johnson did. Further obscured was the fact that two of NASCAR's most prominent and prolific winners, and surely two of its most talented drivers, remain winless this season.
Busch's success is understandable. The younger Busch brother had already demonstrated that he might be a better driver than 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt. Anybody who is truly surprised by anything except the amazing frequency of Busch's wins in all three national touring series may be letting personality issues cloud his or her judgment.
But it amazes me that it is August, and neither Jeff Gordon nor Tony Stewart has won a Cup Series race this season.
No matter who we're talking about, there are no guarantees. Dale Earnhardt had seasons in which he did not win a race. NASCAR's winningest driver ever, Richard Petty, finished his career with eight-and-a-half seasons with nary a trip to victory lane.
But we're talking about contemporaries here, both suffering through the same dry spell. It's like Earnhardt and Petty, the two seven-time champions, both at the peak of their careers and both going without a victory through more than half a season.
It can be argued that both drivers have run well. Both are in the top 10 in driver standings, Gordon in sixth and Stewart in 10th.
Perhaps it's not such a big deal to everybody in this era of preoccupation with points standings. But I still feel that winning races is the essence of motor sport, and that championships ought to be a cumulative result that rewards winners appropriately.
And I am stunned that these two guys have been shut out for so long this season.
August 2, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
David,
NASCAR and all it's point gimmicks take away from where the focus of racing should be. The focus of racing, from a kindergarten foot race to F1 supercars, has always been about winning. NASCAR, however, would rather have us focus on who's in 35th or who's fighting for 12th. Wins don't really matter during the season. It only matters if you get a free pass into the show, or if you make the T12. NASCAR's playoff is a farce, has no business in racing, and has hurt the sport of racing. Nobody in 12th should be able to compete for the title, period. They were in 12th for a reason. They weren't good enough to be 11th.
On Stewart and Gordon, I'd say the more surprising of the two would be Gordon. Stewart has had a distracting season. No wins when teammates have won, leaving the team, and the ownership/team setup issues all must weigh on his mind. It's hard enough to win w/o distractions. Neigh impossible with them. Gordon, on the other hand, is coming off a super season. He has no distractions. His issues seem more like a total team brain fart. Last year all their decisions were golden; this season they're a bit tarnished.
But, hey, the season isn't over, and they will both make the playoff (ugh). But, without that playoff, I think they'd be trying a bit more aggressively/desperately and we'd be watching a bit more closely.
Posted by: Keith | Aug 2, 2008 9:04:22 AM
Well originally I thought Stewart would go winless this season...But i broke down and gave him a "Pity Pass" for a win at Indy...Still say he'll cough up a goose egg!
Gordon has too much going on in his life...baby, wifie...and with abother superstar in the stable I think Rick's running out of Championship to promise!
Posted by: Fan #5 | Aug 2, 2008 1:00:40 PM
David & Keith,
I completely agree. Winning is everything. The only time anyone remembers second place is when it's part of a more compelling story--Mark Martin's career, Kasey Kahne's rookie season, etc. While I was cooking dinner last night, the husband and I were talking about this exact subject. I still think that some math smartypants needs to come up with a better points spread (over 36 races--ditch the Chase) that more heavily weights wins BUT still ensures that consistency counts as well. If the guy with the most wins in a season also has the most DNFs or a ton of mid-to-back-of-pack finishes, he probably shouldn't be the champion. By the same token, the guy with no wins (or maybe even just one win) but lots of top fives and top tens probably shouldn't be the champion either.
Posted by: Kari | Aug 2, 2008 5:42:47 PM
Well with the pathetic Chase, it doesn't matter what any driver has accomplished up to this point in the season. After a dominant season, Kyle could finish 12th in the standings. All he has to do is ask Gordon what a stellar non-Chase portion of the season gets you.
I think both Stewart and Gordon will win before the end of the season, in fact most likely one of them will win the Glen next weekend.
Posted by: Pop | Aug 2, 2008 7:35:33 PM
Jeff's busy thinking about Ella. Isn't it amazing how kids change your focus in life?
Jeff won't win again until he gets rid of "Loser Letarte". That guy has cost him more races the last couple of years. As a 24 fan, it's frustrating to watch.
Posted by: John | Aug 2, 2008 8:45:38 PM
Kari,
Smart and she cooks too. NASCAR's playoff is a joke. There's nothing it in that even looks like a playoff. They're just regular races where 10-11 guys get an undeserved shot to win it all. Real playoffs involve risks of not being in contention the next week. Not so in NASCAR's playoff. It's like the NFL saying, from the wildcard week on, ALL the teams will keep playing until they've all played each other, then we get a winner. The excitement, in reality, is that somebody is going home at the end of the day, and it usually isn't the better team, but on any given Sunday. But, Kari, you didn't answer David. Which is the bigger surprise as a non-winner?
Posted by: Keith | Aug 2, 2008 8:50:18 PM
#5,
Yeah, Gordo has life tough. Let's see, an actress wife, a beautiful child and a yacht bigger than two of my apts. Yep, lots of worries there. I do suppose the better things in life could cool the fire a bit. But, I still think Stewart is facing the bigger distractions, and at what percentage are the crew/team/management/factory support working for the guy that's ditching them? They can spout all the happy goodbyes they like, but I think it's somewhere less than 100%
Posted by: Keith | Aug 2, 2008 8:59:32 PM
Keith,
To me, Jeff Gordon's the bigger surprise as a non-winner at this point. Tony tends to "turn it up" come summertime so I think him not yet having won is less of a surprise.
Posted by: Kari | Aug 2, 2008 9:33:57 PM
Kari,
I don't think Tony does it, as everyone rushes to the Vegas windows to bet on the 20 because of my advice, I don't think he has the support of the organization. They can all sing "Oklahoma," as an ensemble beautifully, but there are issues underneath. More people than just Tony have been distracted by his antics.
Posted by: Keith | Aug 2, 2008 10:41:06 PM
Thanks to all for chiming in. As all have pointed out, big-time distractions are very likely affecting both drivers. Sometimes such things serve as motivators; baseball's tarnished great Pete Rose never played better than when he was going through a messy divorce. He said he just imagined his wife's face on the baseball every time it left the pitcher's hand, and he had some of his most productive times at the plate.
Kari, good summation of what a championship should (and should not) represent.
#5, an astute observation. Even if all your drivers are championship caliber, only one of them can win it each year.
Pop, I agree that both drivers ought to be among the favorites at Watkins Glen.
John, no doubt becoming a parent is a life-altering event -- or, at least, it should be. So many of the problems we have to deal with in our society today are directly related to the fact that some people consider their "parental" duties complete at the moment of conception.
Keith, the bettors might be well advised to take your tip. I agree that the Stewart-Gibbs relationship is fractured. Fernando Alonso succeeded as a lame duck at Renault, but that's not usually how those things work out. The thrill is gone at JGR -- or, more accurately, it has moved from the 20 and 11 to the 18.
Loved the "Oklahoma!" reference.
Posted by: David Green | Aug 3, 2008 12:10:29 PM
David, I am surprised that JG has not won et this year.
Tony on the other hand, took the change, said all the right things, and has not tried to do anything but look good this year.
Posted by: Trucker | Aug 3, 2008 9:50:50 PM
I am gonna go out on a limb here and say, IMO of course, that Tony was not on board when JGR went to Toyota. He lost his desire to win(so to speak) but continued to run well, it always seemed something got in the way. Now I am not saying he did anything on purpose, just saying he lost that extra desire that "Tony Stewart" style we have all seen flare up that little sparkle in his eyes. If you caught his announcement about his new team you could see it, the man was almost giddy. I think that we all know that Tony is one of those driver's that when he believes in something, he will not let no one or nothing get in his way. He is one of the few out there that can drive the worst car in the field and still finish well. As for Jeff Gordon, I think his desire is at home with his family. I also see Hendrick trying to profit off of Earnhardt and make a champion out of him as soon as possible to make good on a promise to the fans. After all that was the reason Jr. went to HMS, to become a champion in the best equipment wasn't it?
Posted by: Graceann | Aug 3, 2008 10:55:43 PM
I personally believe that its not so much distractions as it is teaching old dogs new tricks. Good equipment has something to do with it but even fifty percent of Jimmy Jhonsons wins were stategy. One hundred percent of Kurt Busch's and Jr's were stategy wins. That leaves Kyle B and Carl E to account for most of the wins. These two drove the other car but did not establish all of their career success in it. Gordon to my knowledge has only driven Cup cars since becoming a champ. All of the verterans, and after nine years Jr. is one of them, are scratching their heads and the new kids are adapting. JMO
Posted by: Bob | Aug 4, 2008 10:49:01 AM
Gordon's problem is LeTarte. He's a fine chief for any team that would be thrilled with a top 10 finish, but he is completely inept about pushing the envelope for a victory. Give him to the 5 car and get a chief like Knaus for Gordon, someone who is passionate about winning.
Posted by: 24fan2 | Aug 4, 2008 11:26:00 AM
24fan2, Letarte wasn't timid in 2007, was he?
Gordon's problem is he's not #1 in the Hendrick scheme of things anymore.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Aug 4, 2008 1:24:52 PM
Wow. Tony's come close to winning 5 races already and people are still saying that he doesn't have the desire or JGR isn't giving him full support. What races have you been watching? He's had a top 10 car in just about every single race this season. In this day of parity, that's almost impossible to accomplish.
He coulda, woulda, shoulda won the Daytona 500 if not for a last lap mistake. He dominated the Bristol race until a late caution put him in a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation of pit or don't pit which eventually led to him getting wrecked by Harvick. He had the 600 won until he cut a tire with 3 to go. He led the most laps at Dega until he cut a tire while leading and then got involved in the big one trying to make his way back to the front. He led the most laps at New Hampshire and was leading until the rain came and messed things up. Ironically, the only track that he was really out to lunch at was Indy but I give him a pass since that race was so F'd up.
Tony's just had a lot of bad luck this year. From the bad luck while leading that I mentioned before, to blowing a right front tire at Vegas, to getting wrecked by Sadler on the first lap at Darlington, to getting involved in Sadler's wreck early in the race at Dover, to getting wrecked by Harvick at Sonoma while running second. Him not winning a race this year has nothing to do with him losing his fire or JGR not supporting him. It's just been bad luck. I think he'll win at Watkins Glen and then go on a hot streak from there. I think he'll win at New Hampshire to open the chase and then again at Charlotte and maybe even Dega. I still have him penciled in for three to four wins this year.
Posted by: Ken | Aug 4, 2008 2:33:19 PM
Hey David,
Interesting choice. Certainly a topic that can be dusted off each year, but who'da ever thought the drivers would be the 20 and 24. Should we have seen this comming? Not in anyone's wildest dream.
Have been waiting for the Home Depot to be opening for that championship run during the dog days of summer. Thought that if nothing else, a trip back home again, in Indiana..(la,la) would do the trick. Well, not this year anyway. Remember Tony has had his problems in paradise. A kid has "delivered" a clear message that the price of poker has gone up. While we were wondering about Denny's rising stock at Gibbs, another Kid was born again and really going all in. My point is things weren't great before Kyle, and well we know how the story has unfolded. Will Tony win? Normally, hell ya, he'll win. And better run for a championship, while he can. He could also fall from the chase.
The 24. Man, this is THE kid who has won each year since what, 95? Not once, but at least twice! Can't see the wrench falling on Latarte. He was homegrown, handpicked and sorta "raised" by Everham who kinda had it going on. Understatement. In my opinion, the newer points deal has cost Jeff 2 cups..so far. Remember, he just came off a year with 30 top ten finishes. Hard to improve on, for sure. Maybe realizing that now it's not just racing well, but when. Jeff is more likely than Tony to finish well.
Bout' that new points system that we all love.. how do you get extra points to win prior to the chase, then don't during the chase?
I will give Jeff a Farve salute. May not want you to win, but sure wouldn't bet against him.
Posted by: Larry | Aug 4, 2008 9:18:04 PM
I guess the bigger surprise to me is Jeff not winning yet this year. He is expected to be and usually is....a contender at every track. Not taking anything away from Tony, who is without a doubt one of the best on the track, but Gordon has always been 'a potential champion' almost every year. I think he is at the point in his life, that he realizes racing is not everything and not worth taking a chance dieing for with a new baby and almost new wife. Lots of drivers take this attitude at this point in their lives and Gordon does not have anything left to prove. He certainly does not need the money. As for NASCAR's version of the championship is a farce, as has been noted in several posts so I won't even go there. Wins are what any sport is about, not coasting, when you coast, you must be going downhill, can't coast going uphill.
Posted by: 9fanatic | Aug 5, 2008 6:35:02 AM
"Anybody who is truly surprised by anything except the amazing frequency of Busch's wins in all three national touring series may be letting personality issues cloud his or her judgment."
uh NO. we're surprised because some punk who prior to this year was wrecking more drivers than winning races is suddenly walking away with wins. MYSTERIOUSLY on the same year Toyota has been getting some HP help in the Nationwide series. all of which has been quickly explained by "oh it's his new team"
Posted by: mayorjimmy | Aug 5, 2008 10:29:47 AM
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