ShareThisBy MIKE MULHERN
Jeff Gordon is a changed man this season, feistier than ever, even gruff. But what can he do at California Speedway?
He's a three-time winner here but hasn't finished among the top 10 in more than two years.
However, Gordon's having a good summer, and over the past 10 races _ since a brutal June crash at Pocono _ he has logged two wins and five top fives. And he comes here fifth in the standings, although, despite that run, he still hasn't gained much on his teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson left Pocono 501 points ahead of Gordon; going into the Labor Day weekend, Gordon hasn't cut 100 points off that spread.
That, of course, won't matter much if Gordon hangs in the top 10 through this weekend and next week at Richmond and makes the championship chase, because the top 10 will have their points totals essentially rolled back to zero.
"I said at the beginning of the season we weren't the best team, but that I wanted to be one of the best teams by the Chase," Gordon said. "I don't think we're there yet, but we're getting closer every week. I'm proud of how this team has reacted to difficult situations. Instead of panicking, this team has remained calm when facing obstacles, and I think that's the sign of a championship-caliber team.
"However, we still have work to do if we're going to battle for a championship this year. We haven't locked up a spot in the Chase, but that's in our control. We just need to stay focused on our program, not on what the other teams are doing, and post two strong finishes at California and Richmond. In the last two races here, we just weren't as good as we needed to be. But I think we've made some huge gains in our intermediate track program since we last visited here, which is why I'm looking forward to this race."
The June race at Michigan International Speedway may have been an example. Gordon led 50 laps there, at a track that is virtually a carbon copy of California Speedway, a flat two-mile. Two weeks ago, Gordon ran second at Michigan.
But if Gordon is to win this year's championship, he'll have to beat Johnson and Kyle Busch, another teammate who is having a sensational season.
In fact, Busch won here last Labor Day, becoming the youngest driver to win a Cup race at age 20.
Busch is one spot ahead of Gordon in the standings and has spent almost the entire season in the top 10.
But the man to beat this weekend is probably Matt Kenseth, who won at Michigan and Bristol over the past two weekends as well as here in the spring.
"We've run pretty good at the two-mile tracks this year," Kenseth said. "And we've got a good piece to run _ it's not too far away from having three more wins, with two second-place finishes at Las Vegas and Atlanta, and a solid run at Chicago.
"Right now it's all about momentum, and it feels like we have a ton. We're coming off of consecutive wins and going to a place where we've enjoyed recent success.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm on this team right now."
Crew chief Robbie Reiser agreed: "I still feel like our best is yet to come. What I love about this race team is they stay hungry. When we got in the shop Monday, there wasn't any talk about what we did last weekend. All we're focused on now is California.
"It feels good to have secured a spot in the Chase, but we're hungry to go into the Chase with the points lead."
