Gordon fights to end winless streak, IndyCar to begin, more

Jeff Gordon has come close to breaking his winless streak in both races so far this season. AP

MIAMI -- It was getting late on an October Saturday in 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon had just won the Bank of America 500 and appeared on his way to winning his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup title.

Gordon was back on top of his game and after scoring his 81st career Cup win, next on the list were some Mount Rushmore names -- Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough. David Pearson's 105 career Cup wins are second only to Richard Petty's 200, so Gordon was asked if he has 25 more wins left in his career.

"Yeah, he does," team owner Rick Hendrick said, answering the question for Gordon.

"I'm really trying to savor and enjoy this one right now," Gordon answered that night. "I just told Rick when I sat down here, I don't know how we ever got to 81. That's an incredible number and an incredible accomplishment and I'm very proud of that. I'm not even thinking about 82 now. So you're going to have hold on that to that question until we can talk about it a little more.

"Do I have 25 left in me? I don't know. A couple years ago, I didn't think I had any left in me. So right now, we're just having one of those spectacular seasons. We're just going to try to finish it out and see what we get, and next year is a whole new season. Who knows?"

That was the last time Gordon won a race. He's 0-for-43 ever since.

And just when it appeared his streak would come to an end Sunday night at Fontana, Calif., Gordon finished second to Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth, who became the fifth driver in NASCAR history to follow up a win in the Daytona 500 with a victory in the next race. In fact, Kenseth is the first driver to do that since Gordon in 1997.

"We are going to win races if we keep putting cars on the track like we did tonight," Gordon said. "We still have a little bit of work to do. I'm so excited on one side because we ran so good, but I'm so mad on the other side because I felt like we had what it took to win tonight. We made an adjustment that made the car a little too tight and when I caught him I couldn't pass him.

"It's bittersweet we have to come away from this with a lot of positive feelings because we are a long ways ahead of where we were last year at this point. We're going to get them."

Two races into the 2009 season, Gordon is in the midst of the longest winless streak of his career at 43 races without a victory, leading some to question if, not when, he will win another race.

Of course, with Gordon's talent, it's unfathomable to think that one of NASCAR's greatest drivers isn't going to win again, but it is certainly a question that has dogged the four-time Cup champion during the offseason following a year where he had two second-place finishes -- Martinsville in April and Texas in November.

"I didn't think about it at all this off-season," Gordon said. "I put it behind me. I was so focused on spending time with my family, relaxing and focusing on what the team is doing for this year and what it takes to win this year."

Gordon said last season the new car baffled him and his crew at Hendrick Motorsports. While Jimmie Johnson has been able to adapt to the current car, Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte had to find different ways to get the No. 24 Chevrolet to drive the way they wanted it. But in Gordon's mind, he is coming off a better season than most people realize, a season in which he qualified for the Chase.

"In 2000 we won three races and we were a much stronger team last year than in 2000," Gordon said. "Yes, it was frustrating not to win a race but to me it is always more frustrating when you are not going for a championship."

Said Hendricks teammate Mark Martin, knows a thing or two about winless streaks: "When you run good enough to win then eventually you will win. Sometimes it takes longer than others. But Jeff is an incredible race car driver. He has a lot to do with all of those wins, not just the equipment he drives."

Some may look at Gordon and believe that a happy second marriage and fatherhood has diminished some of the competitive fire that burned within his soul like the bright flames of the DuPont paint scheme on his Chevrolet. But Gordon doesn't believe that is the case. He also does not believe that luck will play a role in his next victory.

"When things are not going your way it is very tough to get it turned around, to get the confidence and get that momentum turned back around," Gordon said. "You have to have confidence in yourself and not second-guess your team and your setups. You push harder and you make mistakes.

"It's a terrible Domino effect. I've been in some small streaks like that before and I was pretty fortunate to come out of them and when I did I learned a very valuable lesson. It's go with what you know, stay strong and don't try to reinvent the wheel."

Earnhardt takes the heat

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. was blamed for causing the massive crash at the Daytona 500 that took out leading contender Kyle Busch, among others, he took the heat for his actions when he arrived at Fontana, Calif.

"There's been a lot of wrecks at Daytona and Talladega but none more scrutinized than this one," Earnhardt said. "It was not a good day but I've had worse days than that. I take responsibility for it, sure. I came up and hit him and spun him out. That's obvious to me and the rest of the world for sure.

"I can't wait to get back to Daytona. I'll be just as aggressive there as I was last week if I need to be. But I don't think I'm that aggressive."

The crash occurred when Brian Vickers went to block Earnhardt, who then decided to turn into Vickers. But Earnhardt wasn't going to apologize for being aggressive.

"First off, what's the matter with that?" Earnhardt said. "It's definitely out of character but here I am sitting there with a car that is capable of winning the race and I put us in a hole so we've got to go -- it's the Daytona 500.

"I got to Vickers and had a real, real good push off Turn 2. He had to see us coming. He came down and hit me in the right front fender and knocked me below the line. The first half of that situation was his doing and the second half was my doing. I came up there and spun him out.

"Vickers is not an enemy of mine. We had been pretty good buddies before that. There were 80 percent of the guys in that wreck that I felt bad about but the other 20 percent of those guys I could care less about being in that wreck."

Vickers, who won the pole Friday for Sunday night's race, was glad to put the entire incident in the past.

"I agree with what he said -- this incident has been more scrutinized than anything I've ever been in," Vickers said. "He had a bad day and was frustrated and aggressive and I think we were all driving that way. I blocked him but that is part of superspeedway racing. We are supposed to block. Our crew chiefs were telling us 10 laps before the rain was coming and he and I were racing for the Lucky Dog.

"He wrecked us and caused a big wreck and he was mad and I was mad. He called this week and apologized and I appreciate that. We've all made mistakes and been there and it's part of racing."

Earnhardt believes there is a lack of respect from some of the drivers who don't really know him personally because they believe his popularity outweighs his production.

"Most of the guys that have known me since I was a kid and know who I am respect me," Earnhardt said. "The guys that don't know me who have come into the sport in the last couple years that are a lot younger than me probably don't. They don't understand what the popularity is all about because the popularity and the results don't match up. That's just the way it is."

While Earnhardt has his legion of fans and a few critics, one thing about him is his honesty. Ask him a question and he'll deliver with an answer from the heart, not from a press release.

There is something to be said for that in a sport that has become all too corporate.

Indycar back on track

After a long off-season, IndyCar teams and drivers will finally get on track for 10 hours of testing Tuesday and Wednesday in the first test session of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It will be the first time since unification last February that all teams will participate in the preseason Open Test.

And it's a long time coming -- it will be 170 days after Scott Dixon was crowned the IndyCar Series champion at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 7, 2008.

"Testing is always important, one just to get back on track," said Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter, who recorded two top-five finishes last season. "That test used to be a little bit more urgent, because that track was also our first race. Now we'll be testing there and not going back until the end of the year, so I think it may change the test a little bit, because you're not going to be testing as specific, getting ready for the event. "Either way, it's time to get going again. The teams have all probably made minor changes, personnel, different things on the car. It's always exciting to get out and test new stuff and get going again with the guys."

While Carpenter, Dixon and Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh are among those returning to the same team in 2009, the test will provide valuable time for acclimation for drivers such as Vitor Meira, Mario Moraes, Will Power and Dan Wheldon, who are moving to different teams.

"It's definitely important for me and Panther Racing in particular, because we've got to figure out where we need to improve as a group so when the season starts we're very, very strong," said Wheldon, the 2005 series champion, who joins Panther Racing after three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing. "Those first few races for points are very, very important. We're not taking it lightly by any stretch. We're going to work very hard to make sure we come out of the blocks swinging."

Also returning is 2007 series champion Dario Franchitti, who did not compete in the series in 2008. "When I broke my back [in 2003], I was out of the car for the same kind of time that I was when I went to NASCAR [in 2008]," said Franchitti, who will be teammates with Dixon in 2009. "It was easier to get back into the car having driven nothing than driving something else and getting a feel for the car and all that. Testing time is going to be really important."

The series will also conduct on Open Test on the road course at Barber Motorsports Park March 22-23 prior to the season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on April 5.

"It's definitely going to be tougher," said seven-year veteran Meira, who moves to A.J. Foyt Racing in 2009. "With the offseason that we have, the new teams have had a lot of time to think, a lot of time to correct their mistakes. Since their learning curve is higher than ours, they're going to be able to start in better shape than last year."

Will Power will be in the Team Penske car previously driven by Helio Castroneves, who is preparing for his trial on federal tax evasion charges.

"Unification was the best thing that could've happened for open-wheel racing in North America," said Power, who signed with Team Penske for 2009 after recording five top-10 finishes in 2008. "With one series, I think it's created a lot more interest in the sport and I see that momentum building even stronger in 2009. We now have the best drivers competing in one series, and that's caused all of us to really step up our game to be the most competitive we can be out on the track."

Despite a sluggish economy which may cut into the car count from last year's 26-28 cars on the starting grid to 22-24 this season, IndyCar Series officials remain hopeful they can weather the financial challenges.

"From a commercial standpoint, unification continues to bring unparalleled successes," said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division of the sanctioning Indy Racing League. "Previously, half of our battle was trying to explain the differences between two racing series. That battle is gone and doors are opening much easier now."

In a lot of ways, this series is better prepared to handled a bad economy than NASCAR. After all, the IndyCar Series has survived for years with low budgets and lack of sponsorship.