NSCS: 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Preview – Jeff Gordon

After having what some are calling the ‘resurgence’ performance of his career, Jeff Gordon is set to contend for the championship once again in 2015.

Looking back at 2014….

Looking at the first half of the 2014 season, the theory for Jeff Gordon was simple – championship. The majority of the NASCAR fan base and media had Gordon pinned to finally achieve the goal of winning his fifth Sprint Cup Series Championship. He backed up those claims by leading the points from Texas Motor Speedway in April, up until the Chase for the Sprint Cup began in September.

Gordon continued to produce the solid runs that got him to be the man of the hour, but a 29th place finish at Texas Motor Speedway after contact with Brad Keselowski while racing for the win resulted in his championship hopes going up in smoke. It was no wonder that the veteran stepped out of his element and sparked the fight on pit road to confront his fellow competitor about what happened.

With the Chase discussion mixed in, though, Gordon’s overall statistics on the year match that of his championship contention days throughout the early 2000s. He posted four victories, his most in a single season since winning six in 2009, to go with 14 top-fives and 23 top-10s.

Looking ahead at 2015….

Without a doubt, Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson have the pieces to finally complete Gordon’s Drive for Five, as evident by the statistics stated above. It’d be no surprise if Gordon reaches victory lane early in the season and once again finds himself in contention throughout the year. The key will be making sure that he performs at the right time of the year with solid finishes and wins, as evident by Kevin Harvick’s championship performance. If Gordon can harness that success to the main 10 races at the end of the year, the drive for five discussion may finally end.

The only other key discussion to remember with Gordon – retirement. Gordon mentioned a couple years ago that he was nearing the end of his 23 year career. However, in more recent interviews, Gordon has mentioned that he regrets saying that as he now feels that he can do this for a couple more years to come. How long the veteran continues to race will depend on how long his back is willing to let him, as back problems were prominent a couple years ago along the lines of thinking.

There’s also someone that is supposedly lined up to take over his seat in the form of 2014 NASCAR XFINITY Series Champion Chase Elliott. Though is Gordon willing to retire and step aside for the young 18 year old? That has yet to be seen. Gordon’s time to win a championship is ticking like those Martinsville clocks that he has won, so he better capture the glory again sooner rather than later.