Jeff Gordon: Gets Much Needed 3rd Place at Sonoma

Yes, Kyle Busch won again. Yes, Tony Stewart has had some tough luck, and yes,  Jeff Gordon has yet to win. But I still feel like Gordon's top five was better then Kyle's fifth win.

You're probably thinking, what is she getting at? These drivers want to win every race, and I get that, but Gordon needed this. After struggling at Michigan (18th) and Pocono (14th) Sonoma came right when he needed it too.

While he wasn't a contender due to his setup early on, this team worked all day to get the car better. There pit stops were excellent and the calls were some of the better ones we have seen Steve Letarte make this year. And due to a crash that took out some of the top 10, Gordon had a shot to win this thing.

I think because Kyle was the winner we assume he had the better car, but to be honest Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson had the better car.

Had it not been for a caution during green flag stops in which most of the leaders had not pit, which put them back in traffic, Kyle might not have won.

Jeff has acknowledged every week that this team is just not where it is suppose to be but we have seen this in the past. 

2001 Jeff won six races and won the championship. The following year he won three races and finished fourth in the standings.

In 2004, he won five races and finished third in the standings. In 2005 he had four wins but finished 11th.

2006 he had two wins and finished sixth overall and well last year he had six wins and finished second to Jimmie Johnson.

And currently he is sixth in the Chase and has yet to win.

They seem to struggle following a year after they have won a championship or were contenders. All the focus is on the Championship, so testing as such isn't a priority.

But this year that has hurt them especially since the rest of the field has caught up with Gordon's team. 

But if you look week to week since Texas where for just the second time in his career Gordon finished dead last, this team has improved.

From testing and running races even without a win, this team overall hasn't been that bad. This year he has eight top 10s and seven top fives.

One thing with this car, which is different, is clean air means everything. So when the leaders pull away with four-second leads or larger they have the advantage.

So even though you might have the best car in the field, you're mired back in traffic, which we saw with Tony at Dover, can ruin your day quickly.

Now I am not saying he can win the whole thing without a win. To be honest they will win. It's just a matter of when.

Typically he wins races throughout the year. He is not like Smoke who wins in the summer or J.J. who cools down in the summer and picks up wins in the fall, in the past Gordon has been pretty consistent.

Like I said in a previous article this would be a good signal of where this team was, if they could run well and finish well here.

It's all about momentum in this sport and timing. That caution came out in perfect timing for a team that just seems to not catch a break.

So they can build off this finish because it wasn't like he'd get in the top 10 and then be passed immediately. He held his own.

If they can run well and get good finishes and a few wins, this team is not out of it at all. It's just going to take patience and a little strategy to get to where they want to be.

So for Gordon to run well, stay out of trouble and gain some points through other peoples misfortunes at Sonoma, the 24 team and fans should considered this a win. At least it does to this fan.