NASCAR Cup

Pocono II: Jeff Gordon preview

TEAM DUPONT LOOKING AHEAD AND OVER THEIR SHOULDERS AT POCONO LONG POND, PA. (July 27, 2010) - Jeff Gordon's focus will be out the windshield of his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Edited: Jul 29, 2010, 3:42 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

TEAM DUPONT LOOKING AHEAD AND OVER THEIR SHOULDERS AT POCONO

LONG POND, PA. (July 27, 2010) - Jeff Gordon's focus will be out the windshield of his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. But this time of the year can cause NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers to look over their shoulders, as well.

Only six races remain before the 12-driver "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup" field is set and 161 points is the most that can be gained during one event. Gordon is currently second in the standings and 184 points behind leader Kevin Harvick, but the gap to 13th may be the more important number at this stage of the season. With that advantage currently at 352, Gordon and the No. 24 DuPont team have some breathing room - two races worth - entering Sunday's event at Pocono Raceway.

"We haven't clinched a spot yet, and there is still some work to do," said Gordon, who is the only driver to have reached double digits in top-fives this year. "We're second in the standings, but I'd probably rather be seventh with a couple wins under our belt.

"But our positioning gives us some flexibility in the upcoming races. If we want to gamble in an attempt to get the 10 bonus points (for a win entering the Chase), we can do that knowing we won't fall too far down the standings.

"The first priority, though, is securing that Chase spot and trying to carry some momentum into the final 10 races." And momentum is something Gordon does not want to lose during Sunday's 200-lap race.

"We started off June's race here pretty good, but then we got real loose," said Gordon. "Then we lost a ton of positions on a double-file restart when I lost some momentum. Everybody seemed to 'freight train' on by.

"And then we lost a car in a final-lap crash." But that 32nd-place finish in June was only his third outside the top 14 in his last 21 starts at the 2.5-mile track. Overall, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has four wins, two poles, 16 top-fives and 24 top-10's in 35 starts at the Pennsylvania track.

"This is a challenging track because it has three unique corners," said Gordon.

"The tunnel turn (turn 2) is a short but really fast corner, and it's a thrill to go through there when you hit it right.

"But when you mess up the corner, it really kills your momentum."

And looking ahead, momentum is what Team DuPont wants to take away from Sunday's race.

-source: pprp

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

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Pocono II: Marcos Ambrose preview

Next article Pocono II: Brad Keselowski preview

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

5 h

Tom Cruise interested in racing ARCA car, per NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell

Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

8 h

Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction

William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Charlotte II

8 h

William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix

Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 9 h

Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring

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