NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Jeff Gordon Had a Successfully Bad 2008 Season

Will 2009 Be Gordon's Comeback Year and the Completion of the "Drive for Five?"

Like always, Jeff Gordon's stats speak for themselves. In the 36 races run in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Gordon earned four pole positions, 13 top-five finished and 19 top-ten finishes. He earned almost $6 Million in race winnings and finished the year in seventh place in the point standings. Sounds like a great year doesn't it? What Gordon didn't do in 2008 is win a race. No big deal, many drivers go a full season without a win. Thing is, Jeff Gordon hasn't had a season without a win since his rookie year back in 1993 giving him a successfully bad 2008 season (source: nascar.com).

After the completion of the 2007 season, which saw Gordon win 6 races and finish second in the point standings behind team mate and three-time in a row Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, many thought that 2008 would be Gordon's year. But a string of bad luck throughout the season toppled with the DuPont car running notoriously bad where it usually ran well left the number 24 car on the outside looking in at the end of the season. While many a driver in the garage would be thrilled with the stats that Gordon put out in the 2008 season, to Gordon, 2008 was nothing more than a big disappointment.

But with the end of each season comes the promise of the season to come. The nice thing about being a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is that you only have to wait about three months to get back to racing. There is little doubt that there is anyone in the NASCAR garage area that wants the season to start more than Gordon (except for maybe his team mate Dale Earnhardt Jr.). Gordon is eager to prove that he is still more than capable of winning races and Championships. After all, he has 81 career wins and four Championships (source: nascar.com) and has been one of, if not the, premier drivers in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the last 15 years. Many think that 2009 will be the bounce back year that will see Jeff Gordon win his elusive fifth Championship.