Jeff Gordon: "He's the guy. As long as he wants to be the crew chief, he's going to be the crew chief." Credit: Autostock

Gordon: Loomis not going anywhere

LOUDON, N.H. -- Ask Jeff Gordon if he has lost any faith in his crew chief and he'll grin. Chuckle, even. Robbie Loomis' job is not in jeopardy and never has been, Gordon says.

"There is not going to be any other crew chief with me than Robbie Loomis," Gordon said Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. "He's the guy. As long as he wants to be the crew chief, he's going to be the crew chief."

Inside the Numbers Jeff Gordon in 2005 Event Start Fin. Stndgs Daytona 15 1 1 California 28 30 10 Las Vegas 11 4 4 Atlanta 25 39 12 Bristol 4 15 12 Martinsville 16 1 6 Texas 7 15 5 Phoenix 1 12 4 Talladega 2 1 3 Darlington 14 2 2 Richmond 20 39 3 Lowe's 2 30 5 Dover 5 39 11 Pocono 31 9 9 Michigan 9 32 12 Infineon 1 33 14 Daytona 15 7 13 Chicagoland 14 33 15 Avg. 12.2 19.0 JEFF GORDON •   Driver Page •   Article Archive •   Superstore: Jeff Gordon gear!

Gordon's recent struggles have raised questions about Loomis' job stability. Gordon maintains the problem isn't Loomis or his team. He cites lack of testing preparation as the primary culprit.

"You guys always ask me, 'Have you panicked?' and I say 'No, we haven't." Gordon said. "Well, now we have (panicked), and we're going to react. Rick Hendrick is classic at overreacting when there's a situation.

"When I first started working for him, I'd bring up a situation and he'd just jump all over it, throw everything else to the side. And I'd come back and say, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, maybe we overrated a little bit.'

"Well, this week I was talking to him and said, 'Hey, the motors are great, but it's time for us to overreact on some testing. So it's going to happen. We're going to put a lot of focus on the Indy test, the Michigan test and the Pocono race."

And he'll do so with Robbie Loomis in his corner.

"We brought (Loomis) here for a reason, and there has never been one time when I've doubted Robbie," Gordon said. "There's been times I've doubted myself, but I know we've got the right people in place, the right resources we need."

Gordon understands that, like coaches in stick-and-ball sports, crew chiefs are ultimately responsible for the team's success or failure. With that comes praise or scrutiny.

"It really is disappointing to me that so much pressure is put on the crew chief, because they usually are the first to go," Gordon said. "They usually are the first to get blame.

"But not within our team. It's usually the media and the fans that will focus on that. Trust me, that's not the problem. The problem is not any one person and they're won't be any changes made there."