Gordon not alone when it comes to lost win seasons

Perhaps the most surprising statistic of the 2008 Sprint Cup season was the failure of Jeff Gordon to visit Victory Lane.

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Sixth on the all-time list with 81 career victories, Gordon had been amazingly consistent for 14 years, winning at least two races every season since 1994. But Gordon was unable to get the No. 24 Chevrolet a victory in 2008, despite 13 top-five finishes, and one has to wonder what that bodes for the future.

Richard Petty faced the same situation after his 18-year win streak was snapped in 1978. He promptly answered critics by winning the 1979 championship. Dale Earnhardt's streak of 15 consecutive seasons with a victory ended in 1997, but he went on to win six more times -- including a much-deserved Daytona 500 victory -- and finish second in the 2000 standings.

On the other hand, after Rusty Wallace's first winless season in 17 years, he would win only one more race. And Darrell Waltrip's trips to Victory Lane slowed dramatically after he failed to win a race in 1990, ending his consecutive season streak at 15.

Surprisingly, none of the others at the top of NASCAR's winningest driver list were able to score another win after having their consecutive season winning streaks snapped, for varying reasons. The injuries Lee Petty suffered as a result of a 1961 Daytona qualifying crash effectively ended his career. He would make only a handful of starts during the next three seasons before retiring.

David Pearson was 46 and Cale Yarborough 47 and both were driving part-time schedules when their streaks ended. And Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, both in their mid-30s, retired after winless 1966 seasons.

So what's next for 37-year-old Jeff Gordon?

Interestingly enough, three other top drivers have faced that dilemma about the same time in their careers, with widely varying results: Bill Elliott, Mark Martin and Bobby Allison.

Elliott was coming off a 1992 season in which he had won five races and finished second to eventual champion Alan Kulwicki by 10 points. Hopes were high for 1993, but Elliott's season seemed over before it even began when he blew an engine midway through the Daytona 500, finishing 39th.

That pretty much summed up the season for Elliott, who didn't lead a lap until winning the pole for Talladega in July, and finished the season with a total of 14 laps led. His only second-place finish of the season came at Richmond, but Wallace had things well in hand until the field was bunched following a late-race caution. (Continued)