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 For Stewart, it's a worst case scenario. If he doesn't win a race,
he's out. And, his best finish in 20 races has been a sixth place at
the Bristol Motor Speedway. He's led races only twice for a total of
14 laps. His best start was fourth at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway last weekend
The Indy race seemed to sum up the odds being stacked highly against
Stewart. He was fastest in the first round of qualifying, but lost
the balance on his Stewart Haas Racing Chevy in the second round,
missing the pole. In the race, a questionable pit strategy call by
crew chief Chad Johnston mired Stewart in the pack, preventing any
chance of contending at the finish.
The down-at-the-mouth Stewart continued his lack of confidence
litany after qualifying at Indy, where new high downforce rules
noticeably helped him.
"I have said all year that it could change in a week and it doesn't
ever mean that after this weekend it's not going back to where it's
been."
Dour words from a three-time champion whose teammates, Kevin Harvick
and Kurt Busch, are both locked into the Chase and are considered
contenders.
Where Stewart and his crew chief simply haven't adapted to this
year's low downforce and lower horsepower rules, Gordon's Hendrick
Motorsports Chevy entries have been fast. But a garden variety of
driver errors, mechanical malfunctions and just plain bad luck have
hurt him.
After driving poorly in qualifying at Indy and then getting
collected in an early race crash, Gordon now finds himself in the
precarious position of trying to eke into the Chase on points if he
can't find victory lane. With six races to go, he is in 12th place
in points. Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Paul Menard and teammate Kasey
Kahne are all within striking distance and trail Gordon by no more
than 17 points. Kyle Busch will soon gain a position in the Top 30
in points and become Chase eligible. Depending on whether other
drivers gain entry by victory, Gordon could fail to make it on
points should he have another finish like Indy.
Gordon led laps and was a contender early in the season at the
Daytona 500, then at Martinsville, Va. and Talladega, Ala. A poor
restart killed Gordon's chances in the season opener. Then,
penalties for speeding on the pit road took him out of contention at
both Martinsville and Talladega, which was round 10. He led a total
of 161 laps in those races and came up empty-handed.
As for the bad luck, in the Las Vegas race Gordon won the pole, but
then got collected in a practice session accident, forcing him to a
back-up car and a start in the rear. On the mechanical side, a loose
wheel cost him two laps at Bristol before a remarkable comeback to
third place. Whether it's a matter of confidence, momentum or other
teams gaining ground, Gordon has also started to remark on a lack of
balance in his Chevy entries since the 13th round at Dover. He's led
only three laps since then.
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In contrast to Stewart's lack of confidence, Gordon, celebrating his
final season before retirement to the broadcast booth, has been his
usual upbeat self other than complaining about the balance of his
car from time to time. "We're struggling with the balance," he says.
It's not unusual for celebrated veterans to temporarily lose the
handle under a new set of rules. When Goodyear switched from bias
ply racing tires to radials in the 1992 season, champions Dale
Earnhardt Sr. and Rusty Wallace each won just a single race. But
both drivers bounced back the following year and battled each other
for the championship, Earnhardt Sr. winning six times and Wallace
winning 10 races.
When the Car of Tomorrow arrived in 2007, most drivers and teams
adapted well with the exception of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Much like
Stewart's problems, perhaps, some of the difficulties fell to
Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief, Tony Eury, Jr.) But nobody in the COT
era could figure out how to beat Jimmie Johnson to the championship
for five straight years. The combination of the new Chase format and
the COT left many veterans sidelined when it came to the
championship.
Looking ahead, the best chance for Stewart, who is 26th in points,
to gain Chase entry may be at the Michigan International Speedway,
where the same high downforce package used at Indy is scheduled to
be used again - although NASCAR reserves the right to alter those
rules. Stewart is also a good road racer, but balance problems would
play havoc on the Watkins Glen International circuit.
Then there's always a fuel mileage gambit possible at the Pocono
Raceway this weekend if the handling woes continue.
Given Gordon's season thus far, it would be difficult to count him
out at any of the remaining six races when it comes to securing a
win. And, he's always been a good points racer when it comes to
balancing aggression with keeping an eye on a good finish.
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