Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordonis an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and currently an announcer for Fox NASCAR. He formerly drove the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 23 full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons between 1993 and 2015, and currently serves as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth4 August 1971
CityVallejo, CA
CountryUnited States of America
We're just happy to we have some things that have been positive and going our way. We haven't looked like we've had the best performance out there but we have had some good situations.
I think with our track record here at Daytona, with the performance that we've got going for us already this week, I'd like to think that we're one of the favorites. But whether we're the guy to beat or not, we'll find out in the closing laps of the 500.
I'm not blaming anybody, but the overall performance was lacking. We were qualifying poorly and that put us back in the field where we keep getting caught up in trouble. A lot of awkward things kept happening.
I believe 100 percent in Robbie Loomis and in his abilities. When we're on, there's nobody better, and because of our lack of performance this year I really don't think that, you know, Robbie should be put to blame for that.
I thought we might have had something for him. The car just stuck so good through (Turns) One and Two. I thought I was going to get a run on Tony down the back straightaway, but then the caution came out.
I thought there was no way Jimmie could win the race, or I wouldn't have left. All of a sudden I hear he wins, and I go, 'You've got to be kidding me?' That was just a phenomenal win.
I think we're united in a lot more ways. I feel like we were always a family, but I feel like we have a tighter bond with the family. We've all experienced a loss.
I think Bristol already brings that out in guys, because there's such tight corners and the track is fast, and I just think you're going to see guys battling to get into that chase who are going to be pushing the envelope really, really hard.
I think there's plenty of young talent out there. It's just whether or not somebody wants to give them the chance. That's the bottom line.
Our performances haven't been as bad as our finishes. We've had several races where we were completely off on our setup, but we've had numerous situations where we ran strong during the event but didn't have the good results to show for it.
Our 2006 started when the (2005) Chase started. We were able to regroup and make a bunch of changes -- not just personnel changes, but changes with the race cars themselves as well.
I think having those no-bumping zones out there did make a difference. There was certainly some desperation for the guys who had to race their way into the 500, but I think we saw a heck of lot less crashes than we would have seen without NASCAR making that change.
I think from what I've seen so far, the guys are doing a fantastic job. We've just been seeing this trend more and more over the last six, eight years of rookies just being able to come in and perform well, win races and put consistency together and also come in with strong race teams.
I still think we have a great shot at this championship.