Jeff Gordon: "All that really matters at the end of the day is whose name is on that trophy. We want to make sure our name and our team is the one on this trophy." Credit: Autostock

Momentum the goal for points leader Gordon

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team decided that once they got the Nextel Cup points lead, they'd start experimenting.

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The experiment has failed, at least so far. Johnson failed to finish three consecutive races and lost the points lead. Not a big deal at this point, for Johnson is locked in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Now, though, teammate Jeff Gordon has the points lead with two races remaining until the Chase begins. But you can forget about any experimentation.

"I want to gain momentum going into those last 10," Gordon said. "I want people to be focused on us and not on themselves. I was excited that we were on the pole at Bristol and took off there early. We were doing everything we could to win the race... I was disappointed that we finished 14th. I felt like we had a top five car.

"The reason that we want to finish in the top five right now is we race for the best position possible, and we also want to keep the momentum going. It's not about, really just leading the points right now. It's about carrying momentum into those last 10 to build confidence in ourselves and kind of put a statement out there."

Gordon is not exactly Dale Earnhardt when it comes to the intimidation factor, but being a four-time champion does carry a certain amount of weight. And if he continues on the roll he's on now, Gordon is the favorite to win the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Gordon is 24 points ahead of Johnson and 75 ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the series heads to Gordon's home state for the Pop Secret 500 at California Speedway.

Those points don't really matter, for after the race at Richmond, the points for the top 10 are reset, with the leader getting a five-point edge over second, a 10-point lead over third, etc.

Credit: Autostock

So leading the Nextel Cup standings isn't a big deal to Gordon.

"Well, it doesn't pay anything, and there's no trophy that I know of," Gordon said. "It only means five points, really. I'll take every point that I can get. We would love to be leading, just to have every little bit of an advantage.

"But it really doesn't mean anything right now because I truly believe if you're 10th in points going into that 27th race, and you're 45 points behind the leader, you certainly aren't in a bad position, and certainly have a shot at winning."

That's Gordon's one beef with the new points system. After a season of five victories, 10 top-10s and 17 top-fives, Gordon would be basically back to zero.

"It needs to be spread out a little bit more between all the positions," Gordon said. "I think the leader needs to have some reward for what he's done all year long. And not just the leader, but the guys that are second, third, fourth and fifth, as well. Those guys have earned the right all year long to be in that position, and then you're going to take it all away from them and it's only going to be a five-point difference between them.

"I just wish that it was maybe a 10- or 15-point difference between everybody so that guy that earns the right to be in the chase for the top 10, the guy that is 10th in points, ninth in points, he's got to work. He's still got a shot at that championship when it's all over. He's got to work extremely hard and do everything right."

Gordon has clearly done a lot right lately. He's won three times in the last 11 races, with eight finishes of seventh or better. And in the other three, he was strong until running into problems: he won the pole and led at Michigan before blowing an engine, was strong at Watkins Glen before breaking a transmission and won the pole and led at Bristol last weekend before getting penalized for a caution violation.

Those kind of numbers could mean a fifth championship, putting him two behind Richard Petty and Earnhardt.

"Our team only knows one thing, and that's to go for championships," Gordon said. "Second, third, fourth, fifth is certainly not going to mean that we had a horrible season, but it's not what our goals are and what we feel like we're capable of.

"One interesting thing is that I've learned that Richard Petty and his seven championships, six of them were under different points systems. I think things are going to change over time when you're in this sport, in this series for a long time. The points are going to change. All that really matters at the end of the day is whose name is on that trophy. We want to make sure our name and our team is the one on this trophy."