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Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with four top-fives and five top-10s through six races.Despite lack of wins, data shows Gordon on his game
In the Loop: Ending a winless drought at a winless track
By Official Release
April 3, 2009
12:45 PM EDT
April 3, 2009
12:45 PM EDT
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Jeff Gordon, in a familiar place atop the Sprint Cup Series standings, has inserted himself into the always hot-button discussion: Who's the best driver in the sport today?
Though Gordon's winless drought has reached 47 races, Gordon ranks atop a number of key statistical categories:
| Pos. | Driver Rating | No. | Avg. Running Pos. | No. | Fastest Laps Run | No. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jeff Gordon | 119.6 | Jeff Gordon | 5.4 | Jeff Gordon | 191 | ||
| 2. | Jimmie Johnson | 110.3 | Jimmie Johnson | 7.4 | Jimmie Johnson | 154 | ||
| 3. | Kyle Busch | 107.0 | Denny Hamlin | 8.9 | Kurt Busch | 129 | ||
| 4. | Denny Hamlin | 103.4 | Kurt Busch | 10.1 | Kyle Busch | 126 | ||
| 5. | Kurt Busch | 101.1 | Carl Edwards | 11.1 | Denny Hamlin | 102 |
Statistically, this is Gordon's best season in years, mirrored only by 2007 when he battled for the championship but finished second to Jimmie Johnson:
Gordon through first six races of season (since 2005)
| Year | Rank | Avg. Finish | Avg. Run Pos. | Fast Laps Run | Pct. Laps / Top 15 | Led | Driver Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 130 | 60.8 | 93 | 93.2 |
| 2006 | 7 | 11.8 | 10.2 | 69 | 88.2 | 8 | 97.9 |
| 2007 | 1 | 5.2 | 9.9 | 171 | 75.9 | 241 | 108.7 |
| 2008 | 9 | 15.8 | 7.6 | 150 | 92.2 | 183 | 106.5 |
| 2009 | 1 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 191 | 97.2 | 289 | 119.6 |
In this Sunday's Samsung 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX), Gordon hopes to end two droughts in one. Despite his winless string dating to 2007, Texas is one of two tracks at which Gordon has yet to win (Homestead is the other). Still, Gordon has some success in the 16 starts he has made at Texas despite the lack of victories:
Gordon at Texas (past eight races)
| Date | Finish | Avg. Run Pos. | Fast Laps Run | Pct. Laps / Top 15 | Led | Driver Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/05 | 15 | 14.3 | 1 | 53.3 | 1 | 78.8 |
| 11/05 | 14 | 17.2 | 1 | 26.9 | 0 | 78.4 |
| 4/06 | 22 | 19.8 | 11 | 22.8 | 0 | 69.7 |
| 11/06 | 9 | 9.3 | 7 | 91.4 | 0 | 98.1 |
| 4/07 | 4 | 2.1 | 65 | 100 | 173 | 136.3 |
| 11/07 | 7 | 10.1 | 5 | 91.9 | 20 | 98.6 |
| 4/08 | 43 | 39.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35.7 |
| 11/08 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 72.5 | 15 | 99.9 |
| Total | 14.5 | 15.4 | 97 | 57.3 | 209 | 86.9 |
More Loop Data
• Statistics Page | Season-to-Date Box Score
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Jeff Gordon
Results at Texas
| Races | 16 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top-5s | 6 |
| Top-10s | 8 |
| Poles | 2 |
| DNFs | 3 |
| Laps Led | 341 |
| Lead Lap Fin. | 10 |
| Avg. Start | 10.4 |
| Avg. Finish | 16.1 |
• Superstore: Jeff Gordon
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