Ah yes, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
From Ryan Newman in the Daytona 500 to Tony Stewart following his teammate, Kyle Busch, across the start finish line at Watkins Glen. There have been repeat winners and last lap losers. Oh, how there's been plenty of losers. Drivers who have been waiting, some longer than others, for their moment in the sun.
Much has been made of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s long return to victory lane at Michigan in June, after watching others celebrate for two years. Now the attention has turned to Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart who find themselves without a victory through the first twenty-three races of 2008.
For Gordon it's been twenty-eight races, Lowe's last October, since he's seen the checkered flag first. The only thing he's seen this year is a lot of cars in his windshield.
"The first thing that happened was we just had a bad pit stop that put us back there, and we shouldn't have been back there to begin with. We finally had a great car. It's pretty disappointing that got us back there to begin with."
A year ago Gordon dominated the Cup circuit but it appears that this season he and crew chief Steve Letarte are just not clicking as they used to.
Which is why many have looked to Tony Stewart who has been running slightly better than Gordon, and just like Gordon a little thing called luck, has not called his name. He finished second at both the Pocono and Watkins Glen races.
Stewart may sit sixth in points but many are asking if his lack of wins could be from lack of focus. He announced he was departing from Joe Gibbs Racing and has divided his time between racing for the championship and building Stewart-Haas Racing.
At first we all said, "Wait until the summer months because when it heats up so will Stewart." The summer is here but the wins are not, or at least not yet. There's no doubt that Big Orange is getting closer.
Only I feel it's necessary to look at some other big names in the field who are win less in 2008, and there's a couple who have been waiting for about five years.
Let's break it down:
Robby Gordon is one of the best road course racers in NASCAR and is considered amongst the favorites when racing at Sonoma and Watkins Glen. With the Cup Series recent visit to the Glen it marked the five year anniversary of Gordon's last win.
It was 2003 when he swept both road course races. Since then Gordon has been swept into the background.
Another driver that's in the background, despite his TV personality, is Michael Waltrip. In 2003 Waltrip won his second Daytona 500 and the second Talladega race. Since that time he's become an owner/driver and has struggled to make races and compete for wins.
Tony Stewart fans are hoping the same doesn't happen to him in 2009.
The 2003 Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway not only marked Bill Elliott's last ride in the No. 9 dodge, it was also the site of Bobby Labonte's last win.
Ironically Labonte, then driving the number 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, passed Elliott on the final lap when Elliott cut a right rear tire.
Labonte now drives for Petty Enterprises and recently signed a contract extension. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't mind seeing Labonte or the King back in victory lane.
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