The Car of Tomorrow needs to be improved before it's too late

The Car of Tomorrow has hurt Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and other normally top-caliber drivers. Getty Images Tim Tuttle's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Tim. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

Jeff Gordon was mediocre Sunday at the Auto Club Speedway in California, finishing 15th and remaining winless through 25 races of the Sprint Cup season. Teammate Jimmie Johnson was untouchable, leading virtually from green to checkered flag for his third win of the season.

They are both Cup multi-champion drivers with access to all the wonders that Hendrick Motorsports has to offer, including information on how their cars are prepared. Only a year ago they were the powers-that-be in Cup. Gordon was second in the championship and was the only realistic challenger to Johnson in the Chase.

What has changed? They have the same crew chiefs and it would be foolish to think Gordon's ability has slipped or that his desire has waned.

I think the secret to that difficult-to-find competitiveness is in the unloved former Car of Tomorrow, which went from part- to full-time use this season. It's a strange car, one unlike anything anybody in NASCAR has ever worked upon or driven.

It's the same for everybody, but only a few drivers and crew chiefs have found an edge. It's at least part of the reason Kyle Busch has gone from one win at Hendrick in 2007 to eight with Gibbs, and why Carl Edwards has jumped from three wins to six. With 11 races remaining, both drivers are good bets to add to those totals.

Gordon's No. 24 seems stuck, unable to make the breakthrough necessary to reach Victory Circle. He could be headed for his first winless season since his rookie year of 1993. An even more telling sign of his decline is 14 finishes out of the top-10. Gordon had only six in 36 races last year.

"It's been frustrating," team owner Rick Hendrick said of Gordon's season Sunday at California. "They are working awful hard. They are testing. The car is just... it's a fine edge. What works for one driver doesn't work for another driver. You have to tune the car to the driver. We have some really good tracks for the 24 [Gordon] coming up, but we've definitely got to get better on the mile and a halves.

"We've had unbelievable things happen, breaking suspension pieces, but we just haven't been as good, nowhere near as good as he was last year, and we've just struggled. We are going to keep going, keep working and nobody is giving up on that team, or any of our teams. We work hard together and we'll keep testing. It's almost like the light comes on when you find a package that's good for that driver and that's what we've got to figure out [for Gordon]."

Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte kept throwing changes at Gordon's Chevrolet at California and nothing worked. He was third at Fontana in February, when the weather was much cooler and the track conditions completely different.

"I was hoping to have a little bit better run, but we got everything out of it we could," Gordon said. "We were pretty much a 15th-place car and that's where we ended up."

Gordon was sixth in the points three races ago, but has slipped to 10th going into the regular season finale Saturday at Richmond. He's 102 points in front of 13th-placed David Ragan. It's not likely, but Gordon could miss the Chase. Could have anyone imagined that in February?