Jeff Gordon's 'Drive for Five' at last appears to be hitting high gear

By Tom Jensen
Published

In a sport where the margin between winning and losing is razor thin, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon has rediscovered what it takes to consistently contend for race victories and the series championship again.

And his teammates and opponents alike recognize that Gordon may be the best hope Hendrick Motorsports has to win a championship this season, especially with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson mired in 11th and 12th place, respectively, in points.

Heading into Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gordon has four race victories this season, second only to the five each won by Team Penske's Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Gordon is on track to have his best season since 2007, when he finished runner-up to Johnson.

Keselowski had high praise for Gordon in his most recent blog, writing, "This year, the Jeff Gordon who owned the late 90s has returned. ... His cars are strong, he's experienced and he has a powerhouse team. He's driving at his absolute best, as well as he did when he was dominating the sport."

According to Ray Evernham, who was crew chief for three of Gordon's four titles, the reason for the sudden surge in performance by the 43-year-old driver is the working relationship Gordon and his current crew chief, Alan Gustafson, have built. 

"I think I was the perfect crew chief for Jeff at (age) 21 in those cars at that time," said Evernham, who is working in a part-time consulting capacity for Hendrick. "And I think that Alan is the perfect guy for him now, because Alan respects him, and Jeff respects Alan as well, and Alan knows how to talk to him. And he knows how to take the information Jeff is giving him and use the tools that they use today and make Jeff's cars the way he wants them.  It's not about the simulation (program) says, 'You have to do this,' or the (wind) tunnel says, 'You do this.' Alan takes the tools and suits the cars for Jeff. That just gives Jeff a lot of confidence."

Gordon's teammates agree.

"If you walk into the No. 24 truck, or you go around their pit stall and you see the interaction and the energy that is created by that group of guys, to me it is evident where it is coming from," said Johnson. "It is communication; it is a connection. Those guys are getting it done. Hats off to them. I'm really happy for all those guys."

"I think their communication with Alan and his team and the way they are going about things is pretty strong right now," added Kasey Kahne, another Gordon teammate. "Definitely stronger than the last two years that I have been at Hendrick Motorsports."

Evernham said Gordon is also motivated by his young daughter Ella and son Leo.

"He told me two years ago that it was very, very important for him to do well because he wanted his children see him be Jeff Gordon," Evernham said of Gordon. "It's pretty neat to see that this year."

As for Evernham, the three-time championship crew chief, he expected no less.

"I'm not surprised because I think I was more surprised by him not being the Jeff Gordon that I know," said Evernham. "I know the amount of talent that he has."

VIDEO: Jeff Gordon celebrates and talks title on NASCAR Victory Lane