Indy gives Jeff Gordon room to breathe pre-Brickyard 400
INDIANAPOLIS – Jeff Gordon ardently asked that his final season in the Sprint Cup Series not devolve into a farewell tour that would distract from his bid to leave the series as a five-time champion. The 43-year-old would return next season, he promised, and dutifully shake those hands bearing gifts and grin for every photograph thereafter.
Some track promoters listened, some pretended to sort of listen and some worked around the request, with Gordon’s children being presented a Bandolero race car at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway being renamed in his honor for a day when the penultimate race of the Sprint Cup season is held there in November. The Gordon one-up race was afoot.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials’ gift to Gordon on the weekend of his final planned start in the Brickyard 400 was to adhere to his wishes and allow him to focus, president Doug Boles said. Besides, offering the five-time race-winner the opportunity to drive the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 this May and fielding a parade in his adopted hometown of nearby Pittsboro earlier this week had been wildly popular with fans and the driver.
“I reminded him again when I saw him, I said, ‘You know, we’re not going to mess with (you). The best gift we could give you is what you asked for, which is the time to prepare so you could win number (six)’,” Boles told Paste BN Sports. “So we’ve tried to stay really true to that commitment to him. We know how important this place is to him and the best way for him to celebrate his time here is to win this one, and we wanted to give him every opportunity.”
So much so that Boles jokingly asked Gordon’s competitors to move over for his “sentimental favorite” in the drivers’ meeting.
That could simplify matters for crew chief Alan Gustafson, who is otherwise faced with devising a way to help his driver work back from a 19th qualifying spot in a race where passing is expected to be arduous. By Sunday morning, Gustafson told Paste BN Sports, the weekend had been a success otherwise, as his team and driver had successfully navigated the tug of what is always an intrusive weekend for drivers, given the pomp involved in events at the speedway. Gordon’s push toward a Chase for the Sprint Cup berth demands such focus, as he is 10th in the driver standings and currently within the 16-driver postseason field, but lacks a victory to all but assure a spot.
“You’re so much in the struggle,” Gustafson said. “You don’t have time to reflect or say anything. You’re just trying to be the best you can be and improve the car and put ourselves in position to win. As far as effort, there’s awareness of how awesome (a win on Sunday) would be, for sure.
“That’s there. You want to do everything you can to put him in the best position possible to win this race, break his (wins) tie with (former Formula One driver) Michael Schumacher (at IMS) and what it would do for our season. Yeah, we’re aware, very conscious, but at the same time, you try not to spend any time or effort on it.”
At least they should have space to work.
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