Ten chasing five Chase spots tonight
RICHMOND, Va. — Jeff Gordon rolled into Richmond International Raceway last year with his season on the line, locked in a tight battle with Kyle Busch for one of the last spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
His hopes were nearly dashed as soon as the race began.
Gordon’s car was barely drivable and he struggled to keep pace, falling a lap down early. But the race was stalled by three rain showers, his Hendrick Motorsports team made major adjustments to his Chevrolet and Gordon used a vintage drive to storm through the field and finish second — claiming his spot in the Chase.
So as he heads into tonight’s race as one of 10 drivers jockeying for the five remaining Chase berths, Gordon knows nothing is out of reach.
“Well, after last year, this is going to be easy,” he said. “We went through so much last year that I think it allows us to be more relaxed, be more prepared knowing that you’ve got to race as hard as you can until the final lap. I think the way [last year] prepared us was knowing no matter what happens, you can’t ever give up. You just have to put every bit of effort into every single moment, every lap. If the car’s off, you’ve got to work on it — sometimes take big swings at it. If your car’s perfect, don’t get complacent.”
That’s the lesson all eligible drivers will take into tonight.
“What Jeff did last year is impressive because he was laps down early