Daytona 500 Predictions: Jeff Gordon Will Exact Revenge After Last Week's Wreck

Jeff Gordon could have lost his life last week…now it’s time to turn the tables.

At last weekend’s Bud Shootout, Gordon's car crashed into Kurt Busch’s car and proceeded to flip over and skid for an incredibly long distance on its side before overturning yet again.

It was a horrific site and Gordon is lucky to be alive, let alone be able to participate in this weekend’s “Great American Race."

The wreck was an example that the old style of pack racing is back in business. NASCAR’s attempt to turn the sport into tandem drafting with only two racers side by side is all but over. It’s what the fans want and it looks as if the NASCAR officials are listening.

That is a huge advantage for the veteran drivers like Gordon that are already quite familiar with this style of racing.

Combine that with the track record of No. 24 at the Daytona 500 and it's hard not to think of Gordon when talking about potential winners.

He has won the event six times, which is more than any other current driver on the Sprint Cup tour. He has 12 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s. Autoracingdaily.com crunches the numbers to form each racer's “driver rating” and Gordon comes in at 89.4, fourth best behind Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. The statistics are formed based on the results on the infamous track from 2005-11.

Trevor Bayne became the youngest driver ever to win last year at the age of 20. But that was with different rules. Old school is back and expect the veterans to take full advantage.

With a new lease on life, Gordon is in a prime position to re-establish himself as one of the greats at the Great American Race.