Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Jeff Gordon admits he is 'shocked' to be leading NASCAR Sprint Cup

Jeff Gordon has admitted he is "shocked" to find himself leading the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup as the series bears down on the first Chase of its new winner-takes-all format

The four-time series champion leads both the standard points table and the win-based Chase seeding with just three races to go before the title shootout commences.

He has won three wins already this season, his highest total since 2011, including last weekend's Michigan event.

Gordon believes being one of the oldest drivers in the field at 43 is now paying dividends in his approach.

"Well, there's got to be some advantages to being 43 out there. I would hope being more patient and using your head a little bit more would be one of them," said Gordon, who is one of only three regular frontrunners in their 40s, along with fellow 43-year-old Tony Stewart and 44-year-old Greg Biffle, neither of whom have won so far this year.

"I've always felt like to be a top driver in this series you've got to balance that out with aggressiveness, being smart, utilising your equipment, making the most of it.

"Right now I've got great racecars. That's obvious. I've got a great crew chief [Alan Gustafson] that believes in what I'm doing out there, and I believe in what he's doing, and the engineers.

"Right now I feel like I'm driving smart, but also when it comes down to the restarts, I'm confident in my car enough that I can put it in places I haven't been able to put it in the past and be a little bit more aggressive when it matters.

"Certainly things are going well, no doubt about that. I'm as shocked as anybody else."

Gordon put some of his current form down to his Hendrick team's focus on the 2014 rule tweaks, including the 'zero ride-height' situation.

"Ever since we learned about the ride-height rules, really we went to work early on it," he said.

"I think they made some good choices and decisions and the direction to go in, with things you find in the windtunnel and simulation.

"We hit on something early and we were strong. Like at California [Speedway], for instance, we were really strong there [in March].

"When things go well and you get better, then you keep going down that path. I feel like we started on a good path at the start of the season and we've continued to do that up to this point.

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Carl Edwards in Joe Gibbs Racing switch for 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Next article Bristol NASCAR: Joey Logano resists Brad Keselowski in Penske 1-2

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe