Gordon's season running out of time to get victory

As teammate Jimmie Johnson celebrated yet another victory -- his fifth of this season and, remarkably, his 12th in 43 tries since the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship was instituted in 2004 -- Jeff Gordon was left once again to explain his season-long dilemma.

It's not like Gordon had run poorly in Sunday's Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway. Feeling terribly ill all weekend, he escaped with a fourth-place finish that moved him to sixth in the Chase standings with seven races remaining.

But he failed to win.

In fact, he failed to hold onto third when Greg Biffle dove underneath him and darted past to take that position away just before he and Gordon made it across the start/finish line.

In a race that was a microcosm of Gordon's season, he was among the best on the track -- but in the end, he didn't come close to sniffing victory. He has not won in nearly a full calendar year -- 34 races ago -- dating back to last October's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

As he heads this weekend to Talladega, a track where he has experienced considerable success much to the consternation of many anti-Gordon fans who attend races there, it brought to mind the words of team owner Rick Hendrick during a two-day test at LMS prior to the event in Kansas.

"It's been interesting and it's going to get more interesting," Hendrick said then. "There is going to be more pressure as these races wind down."

Hendrick was speaking of all the Sprint Cup Chase drivers in general, but it is Gordon's No. 24 team that he has found himself having to defend these days more than perhaps at any time since Gordon began driving Cup races for him in 1992. Beginning in 1994, Gordon's second full-time season when much less was expected of Hendrick Motorsports in general and Gordon in particular, the No. 24 Chevrolet has won at least two races in 14 consecutive seasons.

That streak obviously is now in serious jeopardy.

What's wrong?
When it comes to figuring out what has been wrong with Gordon in this thus-far winless season, Hendrick insists it is all about the new car being run at the Sprint Cup level full time for the first time. He dismisses criticism of Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte.

"Steve has done an unbelievable job. ... I think Jeff Gordon would be the first guy to raise his hand and say Steve is one of the best he's ever worked with," Hendrick said. "The frustrating part of this deal is these cars have to be attuned to each driver. We've talked about that before." (Continued)