Gordon loses another spot, struggles continue with car

FONTANA, Calif. -- While Jimmie Johnson did a donut and pulled his car into Victory Lane to celebrate his third victory this season, Jeff Gordon shut off his machine behind his hauler, wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to face a tiny gathering of reporters. Most everyone else was with the championship contenders.

Gordon, although still part of the dozen drivers who will officially lock their Chase berths next weekend at Richmond, has slid from sixth to 10th in the standings in just three races. He crashed at Michigan, had a top-five at Bristol and then was abnormally mediocre Sunday night at Auto Club Speedway. Gordon had finished in the top five in three of the last for races at the California track entering this weekend.

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Official Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
2.	Greg Biffle	Ford
3.	Denny Hamlin	Toyota
4.	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet
5.	Matt Kenseth	Ford
6.	Carl Edwards	Ford
7.	Kyle Busch	Toyota
8.	Kasey Kahne	Dodge
9.	David Reutimann	Toyota
10.	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet
15.	Jeff Gordon	Chevorlet

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His 15th-place finish, however, was as quiet as his post-race attention.

"We were a 15th-place car and we finished 15th. That's the bottom line," Gordon said. "That's all we had. We just didn't have any more than that.

"We were just off. We were off during the day and we were hoping that in the nighttime it would come through for us, and it never did."

Gordon hasn't pieced together consecutive top-five finishes since June. Intermediate tracks like California which make up half of the 10-race Chase and that have traditionally seen Gordon have consistently strong finishes -- have left the No. 24 team baffled as it tries to get a better grasp of the new car.

The mystery surprisingly goes back to last season. Gordon won six races in 2007, including two that used the new chassis. Yet the concentration was placed on winning the championship.

"I had this feeling that we spent a lot of time with the old car when we made the Chase and we got behind," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "I didn't think we would struggle as bad as we have this year. We've worked harder this year than we did last year, with more testing and just trying to figure it out, we just haven't been nowhere near as good as we were last year. We've struggled."

Last season, Hendrick drivers combined to win 18 races, 16 of which came from Johnson and Gordon.

Sunday, however, was Johnson's third victory of the season, and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. won earlier in the season at Michigan. Casey Mears hasn't finished higher than fifth. But the red flag lies at Gordon's feet. Aside from his winless rookie year of 1993, Gordon has never gone this deep into a season without a victory.

"It's been frustrating," Hendrick said. "They're working awful hard. The car is just a fine edge and what works for one driver doesn't work for another driver. You've got to tune the car to the driver. This thing is making a lot of people pull their hair out. And we've been on top of the list."

Whereas Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, who have combined to win 14 races this season, traditionally like loose racecars and have often excelled when their cars are on the verge of too loose, Gordon doesn't necessarily work that way.

"It's tough to get the car right," Gordon said. "When it's off, there's no fixing it as far as I can see or that we've been able to find. We want to perform well and win races. We want to be competitive. I've said before, it doesn't do you any good to be in the Chase if you're not competitive enough to win races and battle for the championship."

Gordon said he thinks the team will be better next week at Richmond, and he may have to be. He's 102 points ahead of 13th-place David Ragan, while only the top 12 drivers make the Chase. He does have three consecutive top-10 finishes at Richmond. But the organization is looking big picture, too.

"Nobody's given up on that team," Hendrick said. "We work hard together and will keep testing. It's almost like the light comes on when you find a package that works for that driver, and that's what we've got to figure out."