Inevitable
You knew Jeff Gordon was going to tie Dale Earnhardt's win record eventually. The only surprise was that it came at Phoenix, one of only three tracks (now two) where Gordon hadn't won. Dustin Long had figured Martinsville. He only missed by two races.
Gordon will break that mark soon enough. Maybe on Sunday at Talladega, Earnhardt's second home and a place where Hendrick cars have won four of the past six. Gordon won the spring race in 2000, 2004 and 2005. It's as good a place as any to get win No. 77. If not then, it'll be at Richmond or Darlington or Charlotte -- soon, in other words, because Gordon is driving as well as he has driven in a long, long time.
The big prize, of course, is 85 wins. That would put Gordon atop the modern-era list (DW has 84). It would put him in third, ahead of Bobby Allison and DW on the all-time wins list.
So my question: Can Gordon get 85? And when?
Related: If Dale Sr. were still alive, what would he have said when Jeff Gordon passed him? Or would have Senior have won enough races after the 2001 Daytona 500 that we wouldn't be having this conversation yet (or at all)?
Comments (4)
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John, if Big E were still alive, he would probably be retired by now; but he also would have finished somewhere in the 80 to 85 range in wins. The 2001 Speedweeks was the last time I attended Daytona he was driving the wheels off the car just like he did at Talledega the previous fall. Plus Big E made a save in the IROC race after Eddie Cheever bumped him that was clearly better than the "pass in the grass" (that wasn't).
There were too many Bristols and Martinsville's for Big E not to pick up a few more wins.
While Gordon will not have any more 10 win seasons, barring injury I see him easily beating the 85 win barrier. Getting to Pearson's 105 would be a stretch.
Posted on April 24, 2007 2:42 PM
If Gordon gets to 85 at all it probably wouldn't be until the 2009 season or later given the competition level now.
Posted on April 25, 2007 12:53 AM
Marc - 2009? A year ago, I would have said that was overly optimistic. Now, though, 2009 seems realistic. That's just nine more wins - three more this year, 3 or 4 in 2008, then 2-3 more in 2009.
Mark - I'm with you on 105 being out of reach. I'm not sure why Gordon would race after, say, age 40. This is his 15th full season. You can do only so many laps at Pocono or Dover before insanity sets in.
Posted on April 25, 2007 3:27 PM
John, NASCAR could help Gordon's insanity by not having 2 races per year at Pocono. Under their new philosophy 2 per year at Dover is a bit much as well.
At a minimum the Pocono races should be reduced to 400 miles.
Posted on April 26, 2007 10:57 AM