Jeff Gordon Talladega II preview

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Jeff Gordon will need a little help from Lady Luck in order to keep his restrictor plate race win streak alive in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, has won a restrictor plate race for six consecutive seasons, starting with the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July of 1995. His last restrictor plate victory came at Talladega in April of 2000, his 50th career victory. "We've been pretty fortunate to win some of these restrictor plate races in the past," said Gordon. "But with the aerodynamic rules the way they are now, it's anybody's guess who will win. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. That's the way I look at it. "The draft at Talladega is just absolutely incredible and the closing rate you have on the cars in front of you is amazing. There isn't a time when you don't want to be leading, but it seems like there's a constant shuffle from front-to-back, back-to-front. My level of concentration is so intense here that I've told people they could probably shoot me in the foot and I wouldn't notice." Gordon, who has a 334-point lead over Ricky Rudd in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series standings, is having a remarkable year. After 30 of 36 events, he has a series-leading six wins, six poles, 18 top fives, 9.1 average start, 10.3 average finish and 2,032 laps led. However, in the three restrictor plate races this season he has lost 190 points to Rudd. "Luck really hasn't been on my side with restrictor plate races this season," said Gordon. "We were caught up in the big accident in the Daytona 500 and then another one there in July when some cars were trying to get onto pit road. "Talladega is just one of those crapshoot tracks. Who knows where anybody is going to finish? We just want to get out in one piece." With the tap of Lady Luck's wand, Gordon will survive the "crapshoot," extend his restrictor plate win streak and be one step closer to his fourth Winston Cup championship.

-PPPR-