Motorsports

So good early, Gordon irked at end

By BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer
Published November 12, 2007

AVONDALE, Ariz. - There was a time when a series co-best 20 top-fives, 29 top-10s and six victories in 35 races would have been enough, when a 317-point lead after 25 races would have virtually guaranteed a championship. Not anymore, and not with Jimmie Johnson in the field.

So Jeff Gordon's expression flitted between dumfounded and resigned in the garage after his Hendrick Motorsports teammate won his fourth straight race to assume a seemingly hardened 86-point lead with one race left in the Chase for the Championship.

"Whatever they've got, we're missing," said the four-time series champion after finishing 10th. "We know everything they've got, but man, we're just not hitting on it. It's unfortunate. I thought this was our year to get another one, and we're just coming up short at a crucial time. Those guys have just knocked it out of the ballpark."

Coming up short is frustrating enough for Gordon even before considering that his and Johnson's teams are more collaborative than most in the series. He knows that Johnson is an unusual talent, and comprises a mighty combination with crew chief Chad Knaus, but the ingredients for championships are at Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte's disposal. Gordon has averaged a finish of 5.2 and won twice in the Chase, but that has not been nearly good enough even though Johnson's average finish is 4.7. The difference: four wins.

"We just haven't gotten the job done the way we need," Gordon said. "Even if we're finishing second, we're not good enough. ...Right now I'm just more frustrated with the way we've been running when we've run so well all year long and got ourselves in a great position and just hasn't worked out for us. You go into it trying to figure out if it's your year. I really thought we did. It's just not meant to be this year."

DONE: Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford broke a motor part while running in the top five on Lap 107, relegating him to a 42nd-place finish. "That's a race-winning car right there," he said. ...Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s next-to-last race with Dale Earnhardt Inc. ended on Lap 118 when he lost control off Turn 2 and slid into a retaining wall.

BUMPY END: Kasey Kahne's frustrating season moved one peg closer to what sounds like a merciful completion when he slammed the wall on Lap 147, wrecking his No. 9 Dodge. Considered a championship contender after winning six races and finishing eighth last season, the 27-year-old is winless and 19th in the standings. "I drove like an idiot all day and finally crashed," Kahne said.

[Last modified November 11, 2007, 22:59:09]