NASCAR Cup
Jeff Gordon approaches All-Star race same as any other
Jeff Gordon/PPRP
Edited: Jun 1, 2018, 1:50 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
ALL-STAR RACE NO DIFFERENT FOR THREE-TIME WINNER GORDON
Jeff Gordon, Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet
Photo by: Action Sports Photography
CONCORD, N.C. (May 15, 2012) - Jeff Gordon does not approach Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway any differently than the 36 events that comprise the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. It's pointless.
Gordon, whose three All-Star event wins (1995, 1997 and 2001) ties him with Dale Earnhardt for most all-time, will have the same mindset entering this Saturday's race that he had last week. And the week before that.
"Every week we're racing and pushing as hard as we can to try to win the race or get the best finish possible," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont "20 Years" Chevrolet. "It doesn't matter if points are on the line or not. I don't approach the All-Star race any different than I do any other race.
"However, it is a win-or-nothing kind of situation. If we don't win, then we don't lose any points - so you can kind of leave (the track) with a smile on your face."
Not only will Gordon battle an all-star lineup, he will also need to conquer the tough 1.5-mile North Carolina track.
"There are so many challenges this track brings because it's so fast and because of the multiple grooves," said Gordon. "It's a fast race track with a pretty hard tire, so it's just trying to get the balance of the car right. Last time we were here, we were good on three-quarters of the track but struggled getting into turn 1.
"It really hurt us from being more competitive."
The annual non-points race has had many memorable moments since its inception. And for Gordon, there have been both bad and good - even in the same night.
"We've won all three segments, and battled Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt for the victory," said Gordon. "But we've also run out of gas while leading on the last lap.
"We've also won in a backup car after wrecking the primary in turn one on lap one. They dropped the green (flag) that night and it just started pouring, and several of us wrecked. But NASCAR allowed us all to pull out our backup car. We knew we had a chance (to win) as long as we had a race car.
"The All-Star Race is always pretty wild and crazy."
And memorable. And pointless.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Richard Childress inducted into NMPA Hall of Fame
Next article For Kyle Busch Charlotte All-Star race is Checkers or Wreckers
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jeff Gordon
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
The wildest fights in modern NASCAR Cup history
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Bristol II
The wildest fights in modern NASCAR Cup history
Jeff Gordon can relate to Denny Hamlin's Kansas disappointment
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Kansas II
Jeff Gordon can relate to Denny Hamlin's Kansas disappointment
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 14 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 14 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
16 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
18 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe