Beer Bash For Gordon At Talladega, Chevy Continues Dominance
Monday, April 30th, 2007 12:32pm CDT
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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The “what if” scenarios from last week after Jeff Gordon won at Phoenix from the pole have come true. What if he passes Dale Earnhardt, at Talladega where he was so good and to top it off on his birthday? The answer came raining down from a few fans, who decided to ignore not only the tracks warnings but those from Dale Junior as well, as beer cans and other items flew down from the stands as Jeff Gordon took the checkers (under caution after a wreck during a green/white/checker finish) late yesterday afternoon.
It’s a shame, really. A shame that a few individuals can’t get over it and have to act like a 3-year old. A thumbs up goes out to the folks at Talladega for adding the additional security and at least making some arrests. Yet these same “fans” wonder why the world has a certain image of what a NASCAR fan is. Thanks for the stereotype ya jackasses.
So as the conclusion was drawing near, I was curious as to the last time there was not only back to back wins from the pole, but by the same driver. After all, it is a rare occurrence considering the closeness of the competition these days. To satisfy curiosity, here’s the scoop.
Last time there was back to back wins from the pole:
6/11/2006: Denny Hamlin won from the pole at Pocono.
6/18/2006: Kasey Kahne won from the pole in a rain shortened run at Michigan.
Last time the same driver went back to back from the pole:
6/27/2004: Jeff Gordon won from the pole at Sonoma/Infineon.
7/03/2004: Jeff Gordon won from the pole at Daytona.
Interesting stat, to say the least.
Something we commented on recently was why the garage was keeping an eye on Gordon, and his being so happy in life off the track. Backing this up was Rick Hendrick last night on Speed’s Victory Lane, when Herman brought the subject up.
Speaking of Hendrick, Jack Roush isn’t exactly pleased that so far Hendrick Motorsports is showing early dominance of the season. Jack flat out said he’d have to do some undercover investigating into how the organization is testing, where they’re testing, and what tires they’re using.
Hey Jack, just be happy it isn’t your “good buddies” from Toyota stinking up the show. It could be worse, you know.
We’re not denying the dominance of the bowtie this season thus far. Far from it. However just as last year there seems to be the same old problems. Well not problems, but the same situations.
With the Ford camp, they just haven’t got the handle on the Fusion yet. To put it frankly, it’s still kicking their butts. It was supposed to be “as good” off the shelf as a tweaked up Taurus, yet since its inception it has failed to produce the results of the Taurus. They had more time and engineering into the Taurus, which now a lot of that information is no longer any good. The Fusion simply needs more time, and they’re fresh out with the COT coming and possibly coming full time a year earlier than originally expected.
Then there are the Dodge guys. Evernham being the Dodge flagship, they’re getting their butts kicked with the new nose that the Dodge teams lobbied so hard for last season. Yet, Ganassi has shown improvement, and Penske is showing a slight improvement over last season as well. Did Evernham “hit” on something last year that’s not making it through tech this season? Daytona proved to be one case where certain things got them a monetary reminder, but is there something else going on behind the scenes? If there is, it wouldn’t be the first time Ray’s been advised not to bring something back to the track.
Then there is Toyota. New manufacturer, two car styles to keep up with, no data from previous years to work with, and to top it off the competition is closer than ever. Not the best time to try and get into NASCAR at the Cup level, and while hindsight is 20/20, it probably would have been a more wise decision to phase in with the COT.
Finally, we have Chevy. What’s going on there? Setting aside the COT for a moment, the Monte Carlo hasn’t seen the changes that Ford or Dodge have in their cars. Data from last year, the year before, etc., is still relevant. More data to pull from, plus having half the field with your symbol on the hood equates to more information and better odds of performance.
I don’t see it as an advantage for Chevy, they just haven’t fixed what wasn’t broken, or tried to improve something that maybe didn’t need it yet.
Another twist to this, is a “what if” game. What if Chevy took notes of how Toyota shared team information and then implemented something similar? I don’t think Zippy knows what Knaus puts under the car, but what if there was “certain” elements and data available through Chevy? More so than there has been in the past, in order to get a leg up on the new manufacturer? It’s a possibility, and one to take under careful consideration.
Filed Under: Drivers, Hendrick Motorsports #24, Jeff Gordon, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Talladega, Teams, Tracks
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