Robbie Loomis: "There are going to be weeks where guys are spectacular, and we feel like we'll be good on those weeks; and there will be a couple weeks where we'll be spectacular, and we feel like we better make sure we finish them up." Credit: Autostock

Experience could make difference for Gordon

DOVER, Del. -- Jeff Gordon hasn't won four NASCAR championships by accident, and he and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team proved last weekend at Dover International Speedway why they might be considered a favorite this year for title No. 5.

Despite the fact that the top five contenders in the Chase for the Nextel Cup are within 57 points of one another, the teams of Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin have to prove they can rebound, and run as consistently as Chase leader Gordon has done so far.

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Gordon claims his team has yet to show its best effort, but their so-called "sub-par" performance has resulted in seventh- and third-place finishes at New Hampshire and Dover, and a one-point lead over Busch in the Chase.

But it hasn't been easy.

Early in the 400-lap race at Dover, Gordon was screaming into his radio that his car just wasn't handling well.

But cool heads in the pits, led by crew chief Robbie Loomis, and focus by Gordon turned a rough day on the track into a top-five finish.

Loomis said it's taken time to figure out his driver's ebbs and flows, in the course of a race.

"It's hard for me, when I'm sitting on top of that pit box, to know what's going through his mind when that happens," Loomis said. "But on Monday I realize that he's a championship driver.

"He's won it four times, he knows what it's about and when the car's not underneath him, he's just not going to take a chance of somebody getting into the back of him. He's getting out of the way on the freeway."

"We made big gains for sure (and) I'm real proud of Robbie and all the guys on this DuPont Chevrolet for that effort," Gordon said. "We just never gave up on it. Early on, I'll tell you what, I wouldn't have given us a shot at a top 20.

Credit: Autostock

"That's the type of effort it's going to take for us to win this championship."

Loomis agreed that his team's experience, which includes the 2001 championship, might be critical.

"It's going to be a tough championship," Loomis said. "There are going to be weeks where guys are spectacular, and we feel like we'll be good on those weeks; and there will be a couple weeks where we'll be spectacular, and we feel like we better make sure we finish them up.

"(Sunday) and last week we had a car that wasn't that good but we fought all day long and worked well together, communicated well and got the car where we needed it at the end of the day."

All this leads to Sunday's EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and most of the Chase contenders know that on a percentage basis, something that can't be planned for might occur -- and that could be critical to their championship hopes.

"You can say you're going to try to stay out of trouble but usually it's out of your control anyway," Gordon said. "You're just along for the ride there and hope you make that surge to the front at the end when it really counts.

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"I feel good about our performance and how well our car is going to run but that doesn't guarantee anything."

Talladega could be the worst and best case rolled into one for Gordon and Loomis, if their consistency continues.

"If you get in an accident or you break an engine it's going to be a bad blow, because you can't get the car fixed," Earnhardt's car chief, Tony Eury Jr., said. "I think one screw-up is going to throw you out of the title chase, honestly.

"I don't think everybody will have one Mulligan, like they're saying. I think it's going to be a case where somebody's going to do it (10 races) perfect, and that's what it's going to take (to win)."

Loomis agreed with that assessment.

"Ten guys is a lot of guys, and somebody is probably going to get away without having trouble in (the Chase)," Loomis said. "If it's a guy that's (running) top five or top seven, they're going to be real trouble (to beat) in the championship.

"It's no different than in a big season. You'll see some guys get on a run and they're fortunate to miss some things."

Gordon said that consistency would be key, even more than winning races -- but Loomis stressed that "top-15 consistency won't get it."

"Top fives -- what more can you ask for than top fives every weekend -- that would do it," Gordon said. "I think it's absolutely about consistency. Ten races are a lot of races, believe it or not.

Robbie Loomis Credit: Autostock

"We finished seventh (at New Hampshire), third (at Dover) and we're leading the points right now. That pretty much says it, right there."

Gordon acknowledged what was proven at Dover -- where eight of the 10 Chase contenders finished in the top 10 -- and that is that the best teams in the sport are involved in the Chase for the Cup.

"I think what you're seeing happen at this point in the season is everybody is in their groove -- everybody's got their stuff together," Gordon said. "You normally see that late in the season anyway, (that) the guys that are top 10 in points are the guys usually the guys that are battling for the wins."

The most telling statement from Gordon was that he feels like the competition has not yet seen the best from his team.

"I do feel fortunate, that's for sure because I don't think it's been our best two efforts," he said of the first two Chase events. "I know that we've got to step it up a notch (and) I'd like to think that we got a notch to step up with.

"I'm somewhat excited and optimistic about tracks that are coming up that we can do that at."