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Jeff Gordon shares Victory Lane at the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega with his daughter Ella in October. (ROBERT LeSIEUR/Reuters) |
HOMESTEAD, Fla. - No matter the outcome of tomorrow's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jeff Gordon believes he is already a winner.
Even if Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson wins the finale of NASCAR's Chase for the Championship and is presented the gleaming silver Nextel Cup trophy, Gordon will get to hold a prize more precious than any of his four previous Winston Cup championship trophies: daughter Ella Sofia, born to Gordon and his wife, Ingrid, June 20.
"Well, when you go through becoming a first-time father, there is nothing that's going to top that," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet. "It's the ultimate."
Gordon, 36, appeared to be on quite a roll - both on and off the track - when he emerged as a shoo-in to win his fifth championship after recording four of his six wins during the regular season. He led the series points for 21 consecutive races, building a 317-point lead. That was wiped away when Johnson, winner of six regular-season races, was installed as the points leader following his victory in the Sept. 16 Chase cutoff race at Richmond, where the 12-man field was set and points readjusted.
"I've won championships before, and as bad as I want to win this one, I know that even that can't top becoming a dad and that whole experience," Gordon said.
Gordon has shared his joy with his fans, posting photos of his family on his website, jeffgordon.com. The most recent showed Ella in her Halloween costume (she was a strawberry) and documented her first visit to Victory Lane after Gordon's 81st career victory, Oct. 7 in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
"He's as competitive as I've ever seen him," said car owner Rick Hendrick, who stands as a lock to win his seventh NASCAR title no matter who wins the championship, Gordon or Johnson. "He wants it as bad as I've ever seen him want to win this championship this year. But I have never seen him as happy as a person as he is right now with Ella and Ingrid.
"And I've never seen him in Victory Lane as excited as he was in Talladega, because Ella was there, it was her first time," Hendrick added. "As competitive as he's ever been, [and] wants to win the championship as bad as he ever has, but he's happier in his life as a whole than I've ever seen him since I've known him."
And yet, Gordon, who trails Johnson by 86 points, would love nothing more than to punctuate his phenomenal season - six victories, and a series-high seven poles, 20 top-fives and 29 top-10s - by winning his fifth championship.
"I agree it would make it - just kind of put that cherry on top, and that would be a year almost too good to be true, to be honest," Gordon said. "To me, if Jimmie wins it, we've both won, because I've had something to me that means the world to me by becoming a dad. And I know how badly he wants that second championship. So either way I'm not going to be disappointed.
"Sure, as a competitor, you want it. As a competitor, I'm pushing as hard as I can every weekend to get it done, and so is this team. I feel like the team deserves it. They've really done a phenomenal job putting themselves in position to win this championship."
But in order for Gordon to win it, he needs to pull off what is tantamount to a Hail Mary heave. It's what prompted Gordon to wave the white flag in his Victory Lane visit with Johnson after his win at Phoenix last Sunday. Johnson, who won the pole position yesterday with a fast lap of 176.788 miles per hour, is assured of gaining 5 bonus points for leading a lap and can finish 18th or better and win the title, regardless of what Gordon does.
"We don't want to hang our heads and feel disappointed because it's been a phenomenal year on and off the racetrack, and we'll see what happens on Sunday," Gordon said. "But this is a young team. I feel like there are more championships left in them in years to come. So if this one slips away, we go for it next year."
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
