The First Reid: Gordon Hones In On Two 'Unreachable' Records
By Reid Spencer
On Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, Jeff Gordon won the 89th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career
— third-most on the all-time list.
Inevitably,
in Gordon’s post-race press conference, the number 105 also came up.
That’s the number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races won by NASCAR Hall of Fame
member David Pearson,
who is second in career series victories behind Richard Petty’s 200.
Appropriately,
Gordon shrugged off the suggestion he might reach Pearson’s total,
asserting that he’s more concerned with victory No. 90 than victory No.
105.
Given that Gordon has won eight races total since winning six in 2007, such concern makes sense.
Don’t
forget, though, that Gordon is moving closer to another milestone he’s
likely to achieve. Currently, Ricky Rudd holds the “iron-man” record of
788 consecutive Sprint
Cup starts. Gordon is second at 736, and if he takes the green flag for
every event this season and next, he’ll have 797 consecutive starts,
eclipsing Rudd.
Gordon’s
consecutive start streak is remarkable for running unbroken from the
start of his career. Since his Sprint Cup debut in the final event of
1992 – the legendary Atlanta
Motor Speedway race that also was Petty’s final run -- Gordon has never
missed a Sprint Cup race. There are growing numbers of fans and
reporters who cover the sport who have never seen a Sprint Cup race that
didn’t include Jeff Gordon.
After Saturday night’s race, Gordon said the cars crew chief Alan Gustafson is giving him make him feel like a 25-year-old.
If that means 20 more years of Gordon in the Sprint Cup Series, all the better.
1: The
number of cars on the lead lap of Saturday night’s 5-Hour Energy 400
when Clint Bowyer spun to cause the first caution. Brad Keselowski was
the only driver who hadn’t
pitted under green at that point, creating an unusual circumstance
where second-place Kevin Harvick was the free-pass beneficiary.
1: The
number of laps led by Kyle Busch in Saturday night’s race at Kansas
Speedway. Busch’s progress toward the career milestone of 10,000 career
laps led has been slowed
of late. Busch, who needs 28 more laps led to reach 10,000, has been
out front for a total of two laps in the last four races.
7: The
career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish for Danica Patrick in
Saturday night’s 5-Hour Energy 400 at Kansas Speedway. Patrick ran
competitively against the best
drivers in the sport and climbed as high as third in the running order
before posting the top-10 finish.
11:
The number of consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this year in
which six-time champion Jimmie Johnson has not gone to Victory Lane. His
streak of 11 straight winless
races to start a season matches his career longest. In 2003, Johnson
didn’t win until the 12th race of the season, at Charlotte.
4: The
record number of NASCAR Sprint All-Star races won by Jimmie Johnson,
who is the two-time defending champion as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
heads to Saturday night’s
million-dollar non-points shootout. Johnson took the checkered flag in
2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt are the only
three-time winners.
NASCAR, Etc.
Jeff
Gordon’s win now makes it nine different winners in the first 11 races,
the most since 2003, when there were 10 different winners in the first
11 races. … Danica Patrick’s
seventh-place finish at Kansas was a career-best, bettering the
eighth-place run she scored in last year’s Daytona 500. The finish was
the fourth best by a female driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history,
and fell just short of the best all time (fifth by
Sara Christian at Heidelberg Raceway in 1949). ... Twenty-two drivers
will fire their engines on Saturday night, signaling the start of the
most thrilling all-star event in all of sports – the NASCAR Sprint
All-Star Race. Nineteen drivers are locked in, all
by way of a win in 2013 or 2014. Fans will learn the names of the final
three participants on Friday night. Two will enter via the Sprint
Showdown, the top two finishers of which will advance into Saturday
night’s “big show.” The final spot will belong to
the Sprint Fan Vote winner. Fan voting is open until 7 p.m. (EDT) on
May 16
,
coinciding with the green flag of the Sprint Showdown. Votes can be cast
by downloading the NASCAR MOBILE application, visiting
NASCAR.com/SprintFanVote, or by visiting The
Sprint Experience, located in the midway at Charlotte Motor
Speedway.
Monday, May 12
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Kansas (re-air), FOX Sports 1
2:30 a.m. (Tue), NASCAR Now, ESPN2
3 a.m. (Tue.), NASCAR Camping World Truck Race at Kansas, FOX Sports 1
5 a.m. (Tue.) NASCAR Race Hub Special (re-air), FOX Sports 1
Tuesday, May 13
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
2:30 a.m. (Wed.), NASCAR Now, ESPN2
Wednesday, May 14
7 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Kansas (re-air), FOX Sports 2
10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Race at Kansas, FOX Sports 1
12 p.m. NASCAR Race Hub Special (re-air), FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Stockton (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub (re-air), FOX Sports 2
2:30 a.m. (Thu.), NASCAR Now, ESPN2
Thursday, May 15
10 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Kansas (re-air), FOX Sports 2
4 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Stockton (re-air), FOX Sports 1
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
2 a.m. (Fri.), NASCAR Now, ESPN2
Friday, May 16
10 a.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Stockton (re-air), FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Final Practice, FOX Sports 1
Noon, NASCAR Sprint Showdown Practice, FOX Sports 1
1:45 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race Practice, FOX Sports 1
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Live, FOX Sports 1
4 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Showdown Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Showdown Race at Charlotte, FOX Sports 1
8 p.m., NCWTS Set-Up, FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Charlotte, FOX Sports 1
3 a.m. (Sat.), NASCAR Sprint Showdown (re-air), FOX Sports 1
4 a.m. (Sat.), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Charlotte (re-air), FOX Sports 1
Saturday, May 17
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Showdown Race (re-air), FOX Sports 2
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Charlotte (re-air), FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Showdown Race (re-air), FOX Sports 2
2:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX Sports 1
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, FOX Sports 1
3:30 a.m. (Sun.), NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, May 18
9 a.m., FOX Sports 1 on 1: Jimmie Johnson, FOX Sports 1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, FOX Sports 1
Noon, NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Stockton (re-air), FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NNS Countdown, ESPN
2 p.m., NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Iowa, ESPN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte, FOX Sports 2
Midnight, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race at Charlotte (re-air), FOX Sports 2
1 a.m. (Mon.), NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Iowa, ESPN2
2:30 a.m. (Mon.), FOX Sports 1 on 1: Jimmie Johnson, FOX Sports 2
This Week
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
The Next Race:
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The Place:
Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Date/Time:
Saturday, May 17, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1
Radio: MRN,
Sirius XM Channel 90
_______________________
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
The Next Race:
Get to Know Newton 250
The Place:
Iowa Speedway
The Date/Time:
Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN
Radio: MRN,
Sirius XM Channel 90
_____________________
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
The Next Race:
NC Education Lottery 200
The Place:
Charlotte Motor Speedway
The Date/Time:
Friday, May 16, 8:30 (apprx.) (ET)
TV: FOX Sports 1
Radio: MRN,
Sirius XM Channel 90
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