Track is improved, and Gordon might be, as well

The last time Jeff Gordon rolled off the racing surface at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he did so not at the wheel of his No. 24 car but in the back of an ambulance. His vehicle was behind him, in pieces strewn all along the backstretch. The four-time champion was ushered into the trackside care center for a mandatory post-crash checkup, walked out into a phalanx of cameras and microphones, and expressed his profound disappointment at a potentially lethal gap in the facility's soft wall system.

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One year later, things have changed. Officials at the race track -- who, in their defense, seemed receptive of Gordon's criticisms from the very beginning -- brought in representatives from both NASCAR and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska, the latter of which developed the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier now in use at every Sprint Cup facility. As a result, the protective barrier was installed down the entire length of the Las Vegas backstretch.

That's surely comforting to the drivers descending on the desert this week for Sunday's Shelby 427, Gordon among them. "I'm sure at some point during the weekend," he said, "I'll glance over at the new wall when I'm driving down the backstretch to see what they've done."

It truly was a horrific hit, a collision with an unprotected infield access point that left a gaping hole in the front of Gordon's car and soreness that lingered for days in the driver's chest. Almost completely overshadowed by the violent aftermath of the accident was how it happened -- Gordon trying to hold the bottom on a late restart, but sliding up the race track and into the back of Matt Kenseth's car (watch video). At the time, it seemed like a simple error in judgment, even from a four-time series champion. "That was unlike Jeff Gordon," Greg Biffle said then, "but everybody makes mistakes."

And yet, when viewed in the context of the past 12 months, that crash at Las Vegas could be pinpointed as the first sign of all the difficulty Gordon would have finding his comfort level in the new Sprint Cup car. On the heels of a phenomenal 2007 season -- six victories, 30 top-10s, and nearly a fifth championship -- absolutely no one foresaw a winless 2008. After all, Gordon had enjoyed one of his best statistical campaigns in a season when the new car had been used in roughly half the races. The numbers seemed to indicate that he had a handle on it. Conventional wisdom seemed to suggest he would enjoy even more success when the car went full time the next year.

It didn't happen, as his now 43-race winless skid -- dating to Charlotte's fall race in 2007 -- illustrates. Whether it's the widely held belief that this new car requires a looser setup to be able to properly navigate the corners, or the rubber bump stops needed to keep the splitter from dragging the ground, or some other mysterious characteristic of the vehicle, Gordon has had to work hard to get comfortable in it. The transition has proven a difficult and sometimes trying one, full of barbs slung at Gordon's crew chief and ridiculous suggestions that something like having a baby makes a competitor go soft. His amazing 2007 season, where the championship seemed his until the final weeks, feels like a decade ago.

Jeff Gordon

New car results

	2007	2008	2009
Starts	16	36	2
Wins	3	0	0^
Top-5s	10	13	1
Top-10s	14	19	1
DNFs	0	6*	0
Worst Finish	19	43	13
Avg. Finish	5.5	14.5	7.5

* Four crashes; ^won Duel

Yet one year does not define a career. The NASCAR calendar is so long, so all-encompassing, that it can make even the recent past seem downright Jurassic. Kenseth goes one season without a victory, and people forget he can be the class of the field when surrounded with the right support. Dale Earnhardt Jr. misses the Chase one year, and people forget he's won 18 career races. Dale Earnhardt has one 12th-place points finish, and people think the sport has passed him by. Jeff Burton leaves Roush Racing, and people think he's finished. Jeff Gordon has difficulty adjusting to a new vehicle, and people react like his illustrious career is coming to an end.

The reality is that this is a sport with a million moving pieces requiring a million different adjustments, some of which take longer than others. Great drivers don't just forget how to drive. So many of them have been in the exact position Gordon is in now -- adjusting to a new type of car, or manufacturer, or team, or crew chief -- and come back strong. Just look at Kenseth, who after a year that made him doubt even his own ability now looks unbeatable. Just look at Burton, who latched on with Richard Childress Racing and became a staple in the Chase. Just look at the elder Earnhardt, who rebounded from his roughest year to win two more titles. Why would Gordon, on the short list of the best ever to compete in NASCAR, be any different?

For the No. 24 team, there are already positive signs. Although Daytona is far from a barometer for the entire season, Gordon and his team were solid and confident from the time they unloaded until the time they packed up. Even better was their run Sunday night at Fontana, where Gordon had enough car to challenge for the lead -- something we didn't see much on fast intermediate tracks last year. He wasn't out front because of circumstances or track position gambles, which was often what it took to get him up there last season. He drove it up there, plain and simple.

And now comes the big test, a 1.5-miler of the type Gordon had specific difficulty with last season, Bruton Smith's gleaming motorsports palace outside Sin City. "I can't wait to get to Las Vegas," Gordon said in the aftermath of his runner-up finish in Southern California. There's something you might not have heard last year. Thanks to some offseason safety upgrades, the race track is better than ever. We might be able to say the same for the driver, as well.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.