The Fall of Jeff Gordon Creates Another Legend

It's called the changing of the guard. Sometimes it is done by choice, but in this case, NASCAR decided it was ready for a new face for their sport.

Jeff Gordon came into the NASCAR series as just another young guy with success in other types of racing.

Although he started his career as a kid in California, his parents moved the family to Pittsboro, Ind., because there were more opportunities for young racers. Pittsboro is just 10 minutes from my home, and growing up in the area, Gordon was all the rage.

Gordon came into the Cup Series in 1993. In his first six years, Gordon had already racked up three Cup Series Championships, and won his fourth Championship in 2001. That was his last title to date.

From 1996 to 1998, Gordon won 33 races in the series, 10 wins the first two years, and 13 wins in 1998. Since the end of the 2007 season, Gordon has only one victory to his name.

The new "Chase for the Sprint Cup" Championship format was created before the 2004 season, which we all know, resets the points with 10 races remaining in the season. By implementing this new points system, NASCAR forever changed the legacy of two drivers: Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Three times in the first five years of the "Chase," the driver who would have been crowned Champion under the traditional (original) points system differed from the driver who won under the "Chase" system.

In the first year of the Chase (2004), Kurt Busch won the title, but under the old system, Gordon would have won his fifth Championship by 47 points over Johnson.

In 2007, Gordon finished the 36-race season with an astounding 30 top-10 finishes. That would have earned him a 353-point victory over Johnson, and given him his sixth Cup Championship. Johnson instead won the Championship after the points were reset during the "Chase."

In 2008, Carl Edwards won an impressive nine races during the season, but after the points were reset for the final 10 races, Johnson again managed to edge him out for his third Championship in a row.

To make it simple, here is how things would stand if the "Chase" format wasn't created: Jimmie Johnson would have two Championships, and Jeff Gordon would have six Championships, just one shy of the record of seven held by Petty and Earnhardt.

Obviously, we can't say this for certain, but after all the numbers were crunched, that is how it would have played out.

Of course NASCAR couldn't have planned for this to happen, but what happened was Gordon was set back into the shadows, and Johnson has become the face of NASCAR.

There is no denying that Johnson is a great driver, one of the best, in fact. Gordon's performance has really gone sour the last couple of years, and he is far from the driver he once was during his first 10 years. There are many other things that could be considered factors as to why he has underperformed as of late.

While Johnson is now the face of NASCAR, there is no denying that Gordon's legacy was changed with NASCAR's decision to implement the new "Chase" Championship.