| By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM
April 27, 2006
12:46 PM EDT (16:46 GMT)
It's hard to imagine Jeff Gordon doing anything under the radar, but so far this season, he's been exactly that. Gordon stands sixth in the Nextel Cup Series standings, 173 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. Still, he has not visited Victory Lane this season.  | | |
| Inside the Numbers |
Jeff Gordon in
spring events at Talladega |
| Year |
Start |
Finish |
| 1993 |
30 |
11 |
| 1994 |
40 |
24 |
| 1995 |
6 |
2 |
| 1996 |
11 |
33 |
| 1997 |
11 |
5 |
| 1998 |
6 |
5 |
| 1999 |
13 |
38 |
| 2000 |
36 |
1 |
| 2001 |
13 |
27 |
| 2002 |
10 |
4 |
| 2003 |
4 |
8 |
| 2004 |
11 |
1 |
| 2005 |
2 |
1 |
| Average |
14.8 |
12.3 |
|
|
If that changes Sunday, Gordon will be the first driver to win three spring races in a row at Talladega since David Pearson accomplished the feat from 1972-74, a fact certain to be mentioned on FOX's pre-race show from NASCAR biggest track (1:30 p.m. ET, Sun., FOX). "David Pearson is one of the true legends of our sport and it's an honor just to be mentioned with him," said Gordon, who has posted four of his 73 career Cup victories at Talladega. "It's a tribute to the consistency of our restrictor-plate program at Hendrick Motorsports. The effort has been incredible and just continues to improve with each race." Things will be different this time at Talladega, however, as NASCAR has required the use of "softer bumpers" during this weekend's event. Gordon says that rule may play right into his quest to match Pearson. "I like this rule because it's going to take a lot of the bump-drafting out of play," Gordon said. "I think there is still going to be some bump-drafting -- especially late in the race. But I think it will make guys have to think a little bit more about how they pass. "That goes back to the type of drafting I learned early on. We used the air to push the cars around instead of the bumpers. I like that type of drafting, and I'm curious to see how we'll manage it." Martin Truex, Paul Menard and Scott Riggs are the guests slated for Friday's live edition of Trackside on SPEED (8 p.m. ET). Will Ferrell is among the guests scheduled for Sunday's NASCAR Raceday program, also on SPEED (11 a.m. ET). It was a good news/bad news situation for FOX in the ratings last weekend. The good news is the coverage of last Saturday's Subway Fresh 500 was the highest-rated sports program of the weekend. The bad news is that the 4.1 overnight rating the telecast garnered was down nearly 9 percent from the 4.8 last year's race scored. In this week's "Ask the Producer" question, several fans want to know what Donna from Parts Unknown unloaded to FOX producer Neil Goldberg about. What a terrible way to end a telecast. Fans want to see the winner get out of the car, climb the fence and celebrate with the flag in actual time, not clips of it after the commercial. We also like to hear the commentators' comments along with the climb (or flip, or burnout) as they enjoy it or laugh or cry as the fans do. The end of the race should be shared with the fans on television as the driver shares with the fans in the stand. Interaction with the fans should be a very important part of the telecast just as it is a most important part of racing at all tracks. It should be doubly important at a sold out race since some fans could not get tickets. Don't take all the emotion out of racing as others are trying to do. passion for racing is what got the drivers where they are. And passion is what makes them race fans. Goldberg says getting all elements of a NASCAR event on the broadcast is a delicate mix that is top-of-mind constantly "I agree with you, emotion and passion for this sport play a huge role in what these drivers and fans are all about," Goldberg said. "Each week, we try to capture those moments and bring them right into your living room. "It is an unfortunate circumstance when the race coverage runs long into the next time slot. As a network we have commercial obligations and one of them is a break between the end of the race and the winner interview. When we are in a run-over situation it becomes a matter of balancing all that we hope to be able to bring the viewers before getting off the air. "In a run-over situation getting that commercial in when we do can mean the difference in getting multiple interviews on the air before we have to sign off. In these cases we stay for some of the celebration and try to give you a taste of the rest coming out of the break in order to be able to let you hear from as many drivers as time will allow during the post-race. "We are fans just like you and appreciate your passion. I had a letter the other day asking why we do not show more of the fly-over at the beginning of the race, and how that is one of the most important and exciting parts of the day. We never miss a fly-over but this fan did not think it was enough. "The entire NASCAR community is passionate about this sport and we love and appreciate that. We will continue to do our best to bring you all the different moments that make this sport so great." Now on to this weekend's schedule. Nextel Cup Series: Aaron's 499 Track: Talladega Speedway • 2.66-mile oval
• 33-degree banking in turns
• Length of frontstretch: 4,300 feet
• Length of backstretch: 4,000 feet Race length: 188 laps/500.08 miles TV schedule (All times ET) • NASCAR Live: 3 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Final Practice: 4 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 8 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 11 a.m. Sat., SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: Noon Sat., FX
• NASCAR Raceday: 11 a.m. Sun., SPEED
• Pre-race: 1:30 p.m. Sun., FOX
• Race: 2:10 p.m. Sun., FOX One year ago, Jeff Gordon led a dominating 139 of the 194 laps on the 2.66-mile oval. He finally held off Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip at the end of a two-lap shootout, which was set up by a six-car crash with one lap remaining in regulation that ended the chances of fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. The most recent checkered flag went to Kevin Harvick, who caught Greg Biffle with 10 laps to go Saturday night in the Subway Fresh 500, and as Biffle and others began to run out of gas Harvick was able to pace himself in the final laps and sweep the weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Keep an eye on Dale Earnhardt Jr. He has five wins and two second-place finishes in 12 career starts at Talladega, including a streak of four consecutive wins beginning with the fall 2001 event through the spring 2003 event. Junior also has three top-10 finishes in eight races this season. Busch Series: Aaron's 312 Track: Talladega Speedway • 2.66-mile oval
• 33-degree banking in turns
• Length of frontstretch: 4,300 feet
• Length of backstretch: 4,000 feet Race length: 117 laps/311.22 miles TV schedule (All times ET) • Busch Pole Qualifying: 5 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Race: 3 p.m. Sat., FOX One year ago, Martin Truex Jr. made his way through a couple of big wrecks and a three-hour rain delay. When the smoke cleared, Truex had his second consecutive Talladega victory. The most recent checkered flag went to Harvick, who pulled away over the final two-lap trophy dash to win the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 and begin his weekend sweep at PIR. Keep an eye on Truex. The defending race winner and defending Busch Series champion will make his first Busch Series start of the season this weekend, driving a No. 8 Chevrolet. Craftsman Truck Series: Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 Track: Gateway International Raceway • 1.25-mile oval
• 11-degree banking in Turns 1 and 2
• 9-degree banking on Turns 3 and 4
• Frontstretch: 1,922 feet
• Backstretch: 1,976 feet Race length: 160 laps/200 miles TV schedule (All times ET) • Race: 8 p.m. Sat., SPEED One year ago, Ted Musgrave dominated from start to finish, leading all but two laps en route to a 0.935-second victory against second-place Dennis Setzer. The most recent checkered flag went to David Starr, who steered clear of the record 16 cautions at Martinsville on April 1, and held the lead on eight restarts in the Kroger 250. Keep an eye on pit road. Four members of the National Football League's St. Louis Rams will be honorary pit crew members at this week's race, continuing a traditional begun several years ago. Center Andy McCollom out of the University of Toledo will join the No. 75 team and driver Aric Almirola. Rod Trafford, an offensive tackle from the University of South Carolina, will back up 2003 Gateway winner Brendan Gaughan. Rice University products Jeremy Calahan (defensive tackle) and Brandon Green (defensive end) will be part of Rick Crawford's unit. The Domino's Viewer's Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks. | 
