Busch and Gordon Ready for a Resurgent 2009.
By: Drew Hierwarter
For most of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season we wondered what was up with drivers like Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch. Gordon’s season was particularly troublesome as he went the entire year without a win, the first winless season for him since 1993. He did make the Chase and finished 7th in the points but that was little consolation for a year that saw eight finishes of 20th or lower, and a finishing average of 15th.
It was much worse for Kurt Busch however, in spite of winning one race at Loudon in June, Busch missed the Chase and finished a dismal 18th in points. The team suffered five DNFs, finished lower than 20th in 20 races, and posted an average finish of 22nd. It didn’t help matters that Kurt’s younger brother, Kyle, went on a tear and won eight races on the Sprint Cup circuit alone.
Nobody was ready to write these two guys off, but many believed that they had seen their peak years. Gordon was a family man now and folks in the media were saying he was no longer focused on his racing. And in spite of winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in 2004, Kurt Busch had not been considered a front runner ever since switching to the Dodges of Roger Penske in 2006.
But teams like Gordon’s guys at Hendrick Motor Sports and Busch’s Penske Racing guys hate losing more than anything and over the winter they went to work. And just four races into the new season the results of all that hard work have begun to show.
Jeff Gordon has been competitive and a threat to win in every race so far, posting finishes of 13th, 2nd, 6th, and 2nd. He has led a total of 142 laps and is currently on top of the Sprint Cup points. Busch has been a little less consistent finishing 10th, 5th, 23rd, and now winning this Sunday in Atlanta. The big difference with Kurt Busch is the manner in which he won. He dominated the event leading 234 laps, which is 70 more than he led the entire year in 2008.
The 2009 season is still very young and it’s too early to make any final judgments. Remember last year when Kyle Busch dominated for most of the year and led the points by a wide margin going into Richmond and the first race of the Chase. Most people, including Kyle Busch, thought the championship was a foregone conclusion. The team proceeded to completely fall on their collective faces and they finished a distant 10th in the final standings, 600 points out.
But 2009 is shaping up to be a resurgent year for Gordon and Busch. Time will tell, of course, and anything can happen, and there are half a dozen other clichés that fit here. NASCAR Sprint Cup racing is probably the most unpredictable sport of all, but seeing the 24 and the 2 return to the front, racing for a win, can only be good for the sport, good for the fans, and certainly good for Gordon and Busch.