"Blunder" Boy: Jeff Gordon's Season a Disapointment, But Not For Poor Runs

Jeff Gordon entered the 2008 season as one of the favorites to win the Sprint Cup championship. His 2007 season marked his best since his record-breaking 1998 campaign, as he won six races and posted a record 30 top-tens. With the key members of that team staying on, all things pointed toward a 2008 title run.

However, it has yet to be championship-worthy season. 23 races in and he has no wins, eight top-fives, and ten top-tens. Certainly, this was not what he and the team wanted or expected.

The disappointing season has many asking who to blame. Is it the car? Hendrick’s COT program certainly was behind at the beginning of the year (due to Gordon and Jimmie Johnson battling for a title in 2007). Is it the Crew Chief (Steve Letarte)? The setups of the car have been off in recent weeks, with Letarte receiving much of the criticism.

Clearly, the driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr. dubbed “Wonder Boy” isn’t having his typical season. He sits ninth in the standings now, and is at risk of missing The Chase for the second time since its inception. However, if you look at his races from this season, it is apparent that poor luck is likely the biggest factor in his season to this point.

Let’s go back the season-opening Daytona 500. Jeff led early, and was running in the top-five throughout the race. However, in the second half, his car began to fade, with apparent tire wear problems.

A pit stop showed, though, that a bigger issue was present, as the car’s suspension was bent. Gordon would finish 39th, with what was nice chance at fourth Daytona 500 all for naught.

Two races later in Las Vegas, Gordon was again running in the top-five late in the race. A green-white-checkered at the end gave him a shot at a win, although his car might not have been up to it. All the same, a top-five was all but assured.

However, on the restart, a close battle with Matt Kenseth saw both spin and Jeff have one the scariest crashes of his career. He walked away fine, but took a 35th home. Another missed opportunity

Fast-forward to Talladega. Like Daytona, he had a car capable of winning, and was in the front pack in the waning laps. However, as can happen in the restrictor plate races, he was shuffled out of the pack in the last two laps, and then was involved in the stereotypical “big one” on the final lap.

He finished 19th, a third good run gone to waste.

Fast-forward once more to the Coke Zero 400 in July. Starting in the middle of the pack, Gordon worked his way up to lead much of the race. He was second on a late race restart, and tried to pass leader Kyle Busch, when Carl Edwards spun him into the grass. He finished 30th. A fourth chance to win was gone because of misfortune.

Then, there was this past weekend’s race in Michigan. Running fourth, a poor pit stop saw him drop to 15th. In trying to work his way back through the field, a domino affect started by Tony Stewart contacting the wall saw Gordon touch teammate Jimmie Johnson, which caused Jeff to crash after a flat tire a couple laps later. Add one more race to the bad luck pile.

Plus, he’s had finishes in the top-15 that could have been (or should have been) top-fives, such as at Loudon (where he ran second or third much of the race until rain dropped him to 11th).

Sure, Gordon has had races this year where his overall performance has been inferior. At Texas, he was lost all weekend and finished 43rd after a crash. At Lowe’s, he ran mid-pack much of the race, but Steve Letarte used strategy to help him finish fourth. At Watkins Glen, a fast start was followed by a plummet through the field, all the way to a 29th finishing spot.

However, had the five races I mentioned gone in his favor, “Wonder Boy” would have about 400-450 more points (at least) and be safely in the top-five, with a solid chance of clinching a Chase spot at Bristol or California. Instead, the bad luck he hit in those races sees him now in ninth, struggling to stay in the top-12.

For sure, this season has not been what he or the No. 24 team wanted. But that disappointment is more down to lack of good luck than lack of good performance.