Photo by: Jackie Buys
Bristol, Tenn. - For someone who ranks third on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list with 86 victories, Jeff Gordon desperately wants another.
The five-time Bristol Motor Speedway winner enters Saturday night's IRWIN Tools Night Race 16th in the point standings. Only three races remain before the 12-driver "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" field is set, and it appears Gordon's best opportunity to secure one of those spots is through one of two "wild card" slots.
Those spots will be awarded to the two drivers with the most wins ranked No. 11 - 20 in the point standings after the Richmond event on September 8 - with the tiebreaker being points accumulated.
In that "wild card" chase, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne currently holds the top spot with two victories while Gordon, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Marcos Ambrose and Joey Logano are each searching for their second win of the season.
"It's about wins for us now," said Gordon, who is 30 points behind Newman for the final spot. "And we have three good tracks for us - Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond - to try and get another victory."
Along with five wins at the 0.533-mile high-banked track, Gordon has five poles, 15 top-fives and 21 top-10's in 39 starts. But the top lane of the track has been "ground down" since the series last visited here in March, so a different racing surface awaits.
"I love what's been done because I typically run a groove off the wall - I don't run that top groove," said the driver of the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. "Our car works much better further down, so I don't think it will affect us.
"The fans want to see excitement, bumper-to-bumper action and the drivers getting upset with one another. Eliminating that groove might help.
"I respect the fact that (Speedway Motorsports Chairman) Bruton (Smith) is being proactive. I applaud him for putting that effort into it and the money behind it as well, and I think it's going to really pay off."
And less track could just pay off for Gordon Saturday night.
Source: Jeff Gordon media
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Jeff Gordon: Byron "went to another level of being a superstar"
Jeff Gordon to run Porsche Carrera Cup at Indianapolis
Jeff Gordon "impressed and optimistic" by NASCAR Next Gen car
Chase Elliott "most proud of the journey" after reaching overdue win
Late wreck at Texas helps Chase Elliott end 42-race winless streak
Why Kyle Larson deserves his second chance in a cancel culture
The Chinese Grand Prix's Chaotic Return and Cloudy Future
Kirkwood: “More durable” tires hindering passing on street circuits in 2024
IndyCar Long Beach: Start times, how to watch on TV, entry list & more
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments