NASCAR WCUP: Gordon aims for three-in-a-row heading into Pocono
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 13, 2001LONG POND, Pa. - There is a familiar feeling in the air of the Winston Cup garage. Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 DuPont team are back.
Not only are they back, but they are dominating the competition. Gordon has won the last two Winston Cup events, leading 524 of the last 600 laps. He passed Dale Jarrett for first place in Winston Cup points last Sunday and leads all drivers in poles (3), top-fives (9), laps led (1,135) and average starting position (7.6).
The win last Sunday also moved Gordon into sole possession of seventh place on the Winston Cup all-time winners list and gave Hendrick Motorsports their 100th victory.
"Right now I'm seeing a team that is just incredible," said Gordon. "The teamwork and focus they have certainly reminds me a lot of what we had in our championship years, if not more so."
This time last season, Gordon was 10th in Winston Cup points and had only one win and two top-five finishes. Already this season, he has equaled the number of wins and poles from the 2000 season, doubled the number of laps led and is two top-five finishes shy of equaling his total from 2000.
"I give a lot of credit to (crew chief) Robbie Loomis," said Gordon. "He wasn't afraid to make some big changes and go away from what had traditionally worked for the No. 24 car. That's exactly what we've had to do.
"So far we're doing a great job. I've seen this team get stronger and stronger each week. We just have to be sure we don't beat ourselves."
This weekend the DuPont team hopes the momentum they've built will carry over to the car they are running this weekend which has yet to see a race track.
"I'm confident that the car will be awesome from the moment we roll it off the truck," said Gordon. "We've run some tests on it, so we have a pretty good idea what it will do. Now we've just got to log some laps in it and work out the kinks."
Like nearly every track on the circuit, Gordon's record at Pocono Raceway is impressive. He has three wins, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 16 career starts.
"I only know one way to race and that's to go all out for the win," said Gordon. "Whether it's a superspeedway, short track or road course, I always want to be the one that crosses the finish line first."
In the midst of his ninth full season on the circuit, winning hasn't been a problem.
Text provided by Jon Edwards
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