Jeff Gordon and Team Persevere After Early Wreck

The definition of persevere is to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles or discouragement, continue steadfastly.

That is exactly what Jeff Gordon and his team did on Sunday.

Gordon, along with 13 others, was involved in the first big crash. Gordon immediately said the car was destroyed, LeTarte immediately said let's take it to the garage and get to work.

That they did, and 56 laps later they were back on the track, though a win was out of the question; salvaging what looked to be a promising day was all this team could do.

With 55 laps to go, Gordon, his spotter and crew chief Steve LeTarte began discussing parking the 24 crew for the day. 

There were no positions to be made up at that point, and there was no data to learn from what had become a disappointing day early on at track where Gordon has won six times before.

Throughout the day the three of them went back and forth making interesting observations about the lead draft. Gordon discussing how aggressive some drivers were being or how odd it was to see hem lined up single file on the high side of the track just playing following the leader.

Observations he would never be making had he been in the lead draft.

Gordon and Kevin Harvick who was also involved in the crash drafted together for the rest of the day, they were battling for position, a position Gordon eventually earned.

With the laps winding down and talks of the team pulling it in for the day Gordon seemed a bit hesitant to park for the remaining laps. He knew that attrition would follow, that the lead pack would start to race harder and mistakes would be made.

Also there were points on the line, valuable points that could decide a championship in late November.  They decided to stay out and run the remaining laps, a smart move for what was about to happen.

With less than 10 laps to go a dropping Denny Hamlin and pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya set off a 10 car crash that changed the final laps entirely. Robby Gordon hit the outside wall hard sending him into Jimmie Johnson ending what looked to be a promising day.

Slowly Gordon’s decision stay on track would begin to reap the benefits; Johnson unable to continue would finish nine laps off the pace and a very angry 30th place and fall to third in the standings.

Tony Stewart who rode along all day in the back had began to make his charge in the final restart but suddenly fell well off the pace due to what seemed to be a mechanical issue.

He finished a disappointing 23rd and kept pace in the standings in fourth.

Slowly attrition was beginning to happen.

Kurt Busch had a stellar run on Sunday, he was involved in the early incident but received minor damage and was able to continue on and contend for a win he finished sixth and took over the point lead by five points by none other than Gordon.

The difference was leading a lap between the top two drivers when the checker flag waved on Sunday.

The day looked disastrous for this team early on. It’s been a tough couple weeks for the 24 crew with two poor finishes in a row for them, but it’s races like Sunday when a team never gives up that defines a championship season.

Everyone knew full well that this team didn’t have a shot to win, or even a good finish. Instead of giving up and parking for the day in the early laps LeTarte and Gordon rallied their team and finished the race.

On the stats sheet this race is a big black eye, but when you look closer and really realize how much worse this race could have been for this team, their hard work and never give up attitude could be what helps wins them the championship in 2009.