Jeff Gordon loses out again in Chase, but gains much respect
COLUMN By ELLEN SISKA For The York Dispatch
Article Last Updated: 11/19/2007 07:02:22 AM EST
Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team on winning the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship.
I'm not happy about it, but after the streak Johnson and his team put together over the last 10 races of the season, they've proven that they're excellent competitors.
But it happened again. Jeff Gordon lost another championship courtesy of "The Chase."
If not for "The Chase," Gordon would be celebrating his sixth NASCAR championship, winning by a whopping 353 points, and have four Winston Cups and two Nextel Cups.
Instead, Kurt Busch won the first Nextel Cup and Jimmie Johnson got another one to add to last year's title. Surprisingly I've seen a
lot of messages on Internet message boards that begin with, "I'm not a fan of Jeff Gordon, but ... " Usually those who are posting such messages identify themselves as longtime fans of the NASCAR series, but it's clear that it's not just Gordon's fans who think he's been ripped off by "The Chase."
I guess those of us who don't like "The Chase" need to get over it, because NASCAR has no plans to change it. And as Gordon himself said, it just wasn't meant to be. But that doesn't mean we have to like it.
If there could be something good to come out of "The Chase," I'd like to see attitudes toward Gordon change. Maybe some of those people who love to boo him will finally pay the man some respect.
After all, his record is phenomenal. His season was phenomenal. And even more, his humility is phenomenal.
Think about what has just happened to him. He's been beaten by a guy that he was responsible for getting hired by Rick Hendrick. I know that if I had just been beaten by someone I hired after having one of the best years of my life, I'd be upset. But not Gordon. Not only has he accepted it, but he accepted it with grace.
"I am very happy for [Johnson]," he said. "He deserves it. He's the best out there. He and his whole team literally are the bet out there and they deserve it. There is a reason why they were champions last year and there's a reason why they are champions this year. We gave them everything we had. We couldn't have asked for more out of ourselves to go out there and battle for this championship. We put together one heck of a string of races the entire season and it just wasn't enough."
Then he took his praise one step further.
"I love having him as my teammate. I'm proud of him as a champion. And if I can't be the champion, there is nobody I'd rather have as a champion than Jimmie."
Jeff Gordon is a class act. Like "The Chase," it's something every NASCAR fan had better learn to accept.
-- Ellen Siska writes about NASCAR for The York Dis patch. She can be reached by e-mail at esiska@yorkdis patch.com. Read her blog, "Pitting Outside the Box," at yorkdispatch.com/blogzone.
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HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Ingrid Vandebosch (R), the wife of Jeff Gordon, smiles as her father-in-law John Bickford holds her daughter Ella Gordon, during the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2007 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images for NASCAR)
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First of all I would like to express my condolences that Jeff Gordon didn't win the Cup this year. IMO he should've. He was consistent all year long, and isn't that what Nascar says it takes to win the Cup, consistency? JJ just got a streak of good luck at the end of the year.
I have never been a HMS fan, but I can empathise with you Gordon fans. Jimmie Johnson is also a good driver, but IMHO has won 2 Cups, not by racing, but by putting the car on cruise control and setting back saving the car to the end of the race. To me that isn't what racin' is all about at all!
Look at my man, Ryan Newman, he was top 5 for most of the race, then spun out in turn 2 and never did recover, ended up placing 18th. But you know what, Ryan, like the rest of the field, was out there racin' from the first lap on. To me that is what makes a true racer! And it is one of the big reasons I am a Ryan Newman fan, he races!! JJ is like a shark or a vulture, he just puts himself in the top 15 most races and then jumps up at the end. That isn't my style at all, but to each his own. I don't have any stats to back me up here, just years of observation in watching him do this. I watched him do this first hand at the spring race in Atlanta, then he pinched Tony Stewart into the wall, by not giving him enough room to race, like Tony had given him. It was real obvious when you saw it first hand!! IMO winning, not the racin' is what motivates the 48 team. It is a shame too, because Jimmie is a good driver. It would be interesting to know how many of his wins were won because he was the dominate car, and sometimes he is. I am not trying to make the Jimmie Johnson fans angry here, but this is something I have watched him do for years, and I just want to express my opinion finally. This is just my opinion, you are also entitled to yours.
So condolences to Jeff Gordon, his team and his fans. He was robbed of the Cup IMO. Is JJ a real racer, or merely an opportunist in good equipment?
That last question wasn't posed as an arguing point at all, but we each have our own feeling about the answer.
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Last edited by mrsmopar12 : 11-20-2007 at 12:59 PM.
Reason: forgot to spellcheck!!!
Sure Jeff didn't win the cup this year but Gordon fans you have a lot to be happy about. At least your driver won some races and didn't have six (If I'm correct) blown engines. Jeff Gordon kicked butt this year and he'll be back next year fighting for the championship!
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353 points people!!
here is a pic to make you Gordon fans smile!
Did the best "racer" win the Cup?
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