Post by dalejrfan on Jun 19, 2005 17:59:20 GMT -5
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Jeff Gordon's downward slide in the Nextel Cup standings continued Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, greased by a Goodyear tire package with which the four-time champion never could get comfortable.
Gordon's 32nd place finish -- his fourth result worse than 30th in his past five starts -- left him 12th in the standings, 406 points behind leader and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
That position matches Gordon's lowest of the season, which occurred after race No. 5, at Bristol Motor Speedway -- but at that time Gordon was only 248 points out of the lead.
"A tough day," Gordon's crew chief Robbie Loomis said. "But that's what makes us stronger when we go through these days.
"That's why you do it for a long time, because you have a lot of ups and downs. [Sunday] was definitely a down, but we know what we're capable of and how good this race team is -- so we've just got to do it."
The time would be perfect for Gordon and his team to execute that. Sunday's flop marked Gordon's third finish worse than 30th at MIS in his past four starts.
Gordon's No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet started ninth but fell out of the top 20 before 20 laps were run. As he slipped back in the field, Gordon reported his car was tight in the center of the corner and loose off the turns.
Gordon pitted for four tires under a green flag on Lap 38.
"It was beyond frustrating," Gordon said. "We were just lost [Sunday]. We started off pretty good and the car felt good and we just wore the right sides [tires] out -- all the way down to the cords.
"That was certainly a concern, so we started to back off and our car was pretty good. The car would just jump sideways on me, and I'd hear something that sounded like it was breaking apart in the tire.
"The car would jump sideways, we'd come in [to the pits] and there was nothing wrong with the tire. I don't know what was going on there, but we weren't that great to begin with, or at the end, anyway."
Final lapsGreg Biffle stays out late and it pays off with fifth victory
Marlin's day ends earlySterling Marlin's car expires in a spin on Lap 168
Batman Begins 400Check out all the highlights from the 15th race
"The biggest issue for us was that the tires were not the right tire for here," Loomis said. "It was wearing those right side tires out terrible and I think that it kind of gave Jeff a real uncomfortable feel on that set and we just never could get the feeling he needed in the car the rest of the day."
"It was just very, very frustrating," Gordon said. "Several laps I kept thinking there was something wrong with the tire and I'd come in and we couldn't find anything -- at least not on the outside [so] maybe there was something on the inside."
Loomis said tire wear was only an issue on his car's first run, but by then the damage was done.
"The wear definitely got better as the rubber got laid down on the track, but we never got the feel he was looking for," Loomis said. "We thought the car was great in practice and we felt like the DuPont Chevrolet was going to be really strong.
"That's why they call it racing."
And that's why Gordon is optimistic about the next turn of the schedule.
"I don't know -- I'm just glad we're going to a road course," Gordon said of next weekend's Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, a track where Gordon has four victories in his past 10 starts and five other top-6 finishes.
Gordon's 32nd place finish -- his fourth result worse than 30th in his past five starts -- left him 12th in the standings, 406 points behind leader and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
That position matches Gordon's lowest of the season, which occurred after race No. 5, at Bristol Motor Speedway -- but at that time Gordon was only 248 points out of the lead.
"A tough day," Gordon's crew chief Robbie Loomis said. "But that's what makes us stronger when we go through these days.
"That's why you do it for a long time, because you have a lot of ups and downs. [Sunday] was definitely a down, but we know what we're capable of and how good this race team is -- so we've just got to do it."
The time would be perfect for Gordon and his team to execute that. Sunday's flop marked Gordon's third finish worse than 30th at MIS in his past four starts.
Gordon's No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet started ninth but fell out of the top 20 before 20 laps were run. As he slipped back in the field, Gordon reported his car was tight in the center of the corner and loose off the turns.
Gordon pitted for four tires under a green flag on Lap 38.
"It was beyond frustrating," Gordon said. "We were just lost [Sunday]. We started off pretty good and the car felt good and we just wore the right sides [tires] out -- all the way down to the cords.
"That was certainly a concern, so we started to back off and our car was pretty good. The car would just jump sideways on me, and I'd hear something that sounded like it was breaking apart in the tire.
"The car would jump sideways, we'd come in [to the pits] and there was nothing wrong with the tire. I don't know what was going on there, but we weren't that great to begin with, or at the end, anyway."
Final lapsGreg Biffle stays out late and it pays off with fifth victory
Marlin's day ends earlySterling Marlin's car expires in a spin on Lap 168
Batman Begins 400Check out all the highlights from the 15th race
"The biggest issue for us was that the tires were not the right tire for here," Loomis said. "It was wearing those right side tires out terrible and I think that it kind of gave Jeff a real uncomfortable feel on that set and we just never could get the feeling he needed in the car the rest of the day."
"It was just very, very frustrating," Gordon said. "Several laps I kept thinking there was something wrong with the tire and I'd come in and we couldn't find anything -- at least not on the outside [so] maybe there was something on the inside."
Loomis said tire wear was only an issue on his car's first run, but by then the damage was done.
"The wear definitely got better as the rubber got laid down on the track, but we never got the feel he was looking for," Loomis said. "We thought the car was great in practice and we felt like the DuPont Chevrolet was going to be really strong.
"That's why they call it racing."
And that's why Gordon is optimistic about the next turn of the schedule.
"I don't know -- I'm just glad we're going to a road course," Gordon said of next weekend's Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, a track where Gordon has four victories in his past 10 starts and five other top-6 finishes.