Path to fifth title runs through Martinsville (1:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, ESPN)
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The clock has held the key in many of Jeff Gordon‘s four career championship runs.
Being in contention to win that unique Ridgeway grandfather clock, which doubles as a race trophy, in the fall race at Martinsville Speedway was a crucial component for the 43-year-old veteran when he was winning premier series championships over a seven-year span. He used his success at this unique 0.526-mile oval — where he has eight career wins — to gain separation in those title tilts.
As the defending race winner, Gordon can do the same Sunday in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), where a win would guarantee him one of four spots in the final four-driver Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I can honestly say, never has Martinsville been more important than this weekend,” Gordon said. “I definitely think it’s played an important role to my championship runs in the past. Our team is solid here, and we come in here believing that we have a chance at winning. This weekend though, with the way this format is, I think we’re in a situation where this is a great track where we can win it. We’re very focused on this track.”
The format Gordon speaks of is the brand-new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup configuration. The Chase concept wasn’t around when Gordon won his most recent title (2001), and the newest iteration is in its first year of existence.
Typically when the series hits Martinsville in late October, there are five — and often, fewer — drivers still in championship contention. This year, there are eight. The points have reset to 4,000 among all eligible drivers in the Eliminator Round, Gordon included.
That makes all the details extra important, which is why Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates tested here earlier this season in preparation for Sunday’s race. Gordon came back to the paper clip-shaped track for the test on the heels of a 12th-place finish in the spring. That result was one of just three finishes outside the top 10 at the track since 2003, a span of 23 races.
It’s a staggering statistic, one that is only equaled by teammate Jimmie Johnson. In addition to eight wins here, which matches Gordon’s total, “Six-Time” has 22 top-10s in his 25 career Martinsville starts. Excluding his very first start at the track in 2002, Johnson’s worst career finish is 12th.
Like Gordon, he’s long used the unique oval as a springboard toward his six championships.
“This has been a track that can certainly shuffle the deck,” Johnson said. “With Jeff and the situation he’s in in the points, I’m hopeful he can take advantage of things this weekend and have a good run.”
Gordon having a good run is of utmost importance to Hendrick Motorsports. After all, he’s the only one of the stable’s four drivers to have qualified for the Eliminator Round.
Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne were all ousted after Talladega, with Kahne finishing above the cutoff line in points but failing to transfer after Brad Keselowski — who finished the Contender Round with fewer points than Kahne — won the GEICO 500 to earn an automatic entry into the third round.
It presents a scenario in which the main character is different, but the theme is the same for Hendrick Motorsports. Drivers in the organization are accustomed to having one of their teammates running for a title, and having to be mindful of his situation — it’s just that for the past eight years it’s been Johnson, not Gordon.
“I’m going to be aware of where (Gordon) is on the track and try not to give him a hard time,” Johnson said. “I’ve always won championships by keeping it simple and feel like getting too far away from normal and overthinking things creates problems for me. I’m not sure how Jeff wants to go about things. I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep to themselves and do what they can. That’s what got them in this position and that’s what’s going to win them a championship.”
And Gordon being in position to win a championship at sunny Homestead starts here Sunday in the chilly Virginia foothills, where a grandfather clock has historically helped determine if it’s time to win a title.
“When you get the opportunity to have that clock delivered to your home or to the shop, it’s very special,” Gordon said. “I cherish every one and I look forward to that opportunity, and we’ve got a great opportunity this weekend. Everybody always says, ‘Oh man, do you ever have trouble finding places for those?’ No.
“We can win more and more and more and we’ll never have a problem finding a good place for it.”
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