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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon 2014 Review


By Richard Tix


Season Grade: A

Going into 2014 everyone was on the skeptical bandwagon when it came to Jeff Gordon. Was he over the hill? Would he retire? Is he merely just keeping the season warm for up and comer Chase Elliott? You name it, it was said. 

Myself, I looked at his stats in 2013 and looked past his career. I saw a down year and a driver another year older. I thought It might be the start of a slow decline. However, I did point out 2014 would be a big year to prove that wasn't the case:

"Jeff Gordon is at 88 career wins to start the 2014 season, but if he continues the pace he has been on the last 6 seasons he will need to race full time another 11 years. That puts Gordon at 52 years old and it starts to seem even more unrealistic that he will ever reach 100. So if Gordon ever wants to get to 100 wins he needs to start having seasons where he steals a few races from other drivers. With that in mind, 2014 is a big year for Jeff Gordon if he wants to get back on the path of 100 and chase another title." -Season Preview

Gordon did just that, he came out and proved he could still win at a high level. After such a good season in 2014, the questions now are, how many more years can he compete? Will he win another Championship in 2015? Where is Chase Elliott going to go since Jeff might stay a few more years?

It is refreshing to see Gordon back at a high level after a struggle in 2013. Its nice to have the sports biggest stars at there very best, Whether you love them or hate them, its good for the sport.

In 2014 Gordon's 4 wins were the most he has had since 2007. His 14 top 5's and his 23 top 10's were the most he has had since 2009. The most telling was that his average start position of 9th was the best he has had since 2003. Gordon seemed very comfortable in year two with the Gen-6 which will be something to watch going into 2015 as teams scramble to figure out the new adjustments.

As a whole, 2014 was a great season for the #24. If NASCAR was still decided by points only he would have been the Champion. But, in 2014 NASCAR is not decided that way and Gordon will have to find a way to overcome. It will be fun to watch and see if he can finally win title number 5 towards the end of his career.

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