RELATED: Updated series standings
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After fighting poor handling all day, Jeff Gordon pulled a crucial 10th-place finish out of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. That’s what four-time champions do: Keep digging.
“We were absolutely as far off as you can be,” Gordon said after a green-white-checkered finish in the Hollywood Casino 400. “The thing qualified amazing and ever since we put it in race trim, I just haven’t felt comfortable. I haven’t felt good and struggled with it. That was one of the hardest top-10s I’ve ever had.”
In an exchange with crew chief Alan Gustafson after a caution on Lap 65, Gordon said, “I’ve got zero confidence in the back. The front’s barely hanging on. … I know we’ve got to get the front to turn better. I just don’t know how we get it and keep some security in the rear.”
Making adjustments on every stop, Gustafson and Gordon worked to get the No. 24 lined up 14th on the race’s final restart, having slid back to mid-pack in stretches Sunday.
The top-10 finish, one place ahead of fellow Chaser Ryan Newman‘s No. 31 Chevrolet, was a difference-maker in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Gordon moved one spot up in the standings, putting him seventh going into the final race of the Contender Round at Talladega. Only the top eight drivers will advance to the Eliminator Round.
Gordon is in his last season as a full-time Sprint Cup Series driver, and his 23 years of experience have helped him maintain his composure while fighting a car, keeping one eye on the track at hand and another on the big picture of the championship race.
“You can’t wreck it, that’s the thing. And I almost did,” Gordon said about trying to balance fighting for a win and fighting for a championship. “I was battling with Carl (Edwards) there on one of those last restarts. And Carl almost got away from me. I realized 12th was better than 35th, and so I just had to back off.
“There at the end we had an opportunity, Alan made a great call in putting two tires on, and I had the outside lane and we moved up some spots.”
Staying above the cut line at Talladega will be a challenge for every Chase driver except Joey Logano, who is locked into the Eliminator Round after back-to-back victories at Charlotte and Kansas.
Gordon has six wins at Talladega — the same number as fellow Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. — and an average finish of 17.3. His 79.2 driver rating at the tempestuous track is another reason for the No. 24 team to feel some level of confidence heading into a Chase wild-card race.
“With our pit crew and the communication and the way the team’s performing and executing, I think I’m more optimistic about that race than these last two, in all honesty. But it’s just the unknown that throws a wrench in that.”
Earnhardt Jr. is the strongest Chase driver statistically at Talladega, and Gordon takes comfort in his teammate’s success at the Alabama track, including the No. 88’s victory in May’s Geico 500.
“You’ve seen what Dale Jr.’s done there, and I think our cars are just as good as his,” Gordon said. “We just can’t get caught in the middle and get caught up in a wreck.”
The secrets to success next week are qualifying and pit stops: Starting up front and staying up front. As far as advancing in the Chase goes, that’s a simple solution, too: “Win.”
Gordon knows he doesn’t have to win next week to advance, but that’s another thing four-time champions do: Aim high.