Jeff Gordon

It's a car that normally travels very fast, but Wednesday it was standing still right here in Wichita. The Jeff Gordon NASCAR show car was on display at the Dillon's at Central and Rock Rd. The four time NASCAR champion has a new sponsor this year, the AARP foundation and its drive to end hunger. The AARP Wednesday presented the Kansas Food Bank with a $10,000 check. Gordon's car was on hand from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for fans to see and photograph.

This will be a telling season for Jeff Gordon. His points finishes have steadly gone down over the past few seasons and wins are becoming harder to come by for the winningest active driver in the sport. Hendrick shook up the organization in order to help all teams not named Jimmie Johnson. And in the crew chief go round, Gordon landed on Allan Gustafson. He's considered one of the most talent crew chiefs in the garage area, But he's had kind of an up and down career. Gustafson's best season was two years ago, when he lead Mark Martin to a 2nd place finish in the chase.

After a 66 race absence the 24 went back in victory lane Sunday in Phoenix. Jeff Gordon avoided a crash filled Subway Fresh Fit 500, leading the most laps to pick up his 83rd career Sprint Cup victory. The win moves Gordon into a tie for 5th all-time on the Sprint Cup victory list, tied with Cale Yabrough. One more will move him into a tie with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for third. For his team Hendrick Motorsports its the 7th win in 9 races at Phoenix. "It feels so amazing," said Gordon.

I never saw Richard Petty put a hurtin' on the field. I never saw the sly ole Silver Fox outsmart the competition and DW busting out the "Icky Shuffle" Is just a piece of tape to me that they bust out each Daytona 500. Being a relatively new fan to the sport, I've missed a lot. But I have been lucky enough to see stock car greatness, thanks to Jeff Gordon. With his win Tuesday at Atlanta, Gordon moved into third on the all-time win list. Let's put this into perspective, it is so hard to win these days.

Clint Bowyer's chance at a NASCAR championship will have to wait another year. The Emporia native appeared to be headed to Homestead, with an outside shot at the title. But instead, an accident caused when Jeff Gordon intentionally wrecked the 15 coming to the white flag, lead to a 28th place finish for Bowyer and officially eliminated him from contention in the chase. "It's crazy, I didn't even need to pass him, I was plenty content riding behind him," said Bowyer. "But he slipped up and I got under him and here he comes back.

Jeff Gordon knows a little something about drive. You don't get to third on the all-time NASCAR wins list or win four Cup Championship with out it. But Gordon has always been a trailblazer among the drivers, both on and off the track. From guest hosting what was then "Live! with Regis and Kelly" or "Saturday Night Live" he has always been one of the first NASCAR drivers to step out there. Whether it's his drive to win races or his drive to help the community. NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon always puts forth a winning effort.

So something odd has happened at Martinsville the last three times NASCAR has visited the Virginia track, someone not named Jimmie Johnson or Denny Hamlin has won. From 2006 to 2010, those two drivers combined to win nine straight races at Martinsville. Should make things interesting as both are still strong contenders for the chase as NASCAR heads back to Martinsville this weekend. "It should be a good track for us," said Jimmie Johnson. "As excited as I am, I know also that the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin)

Chicago may be the Second City, but it's first up in the Chase for the Championship. Getting off to a good start at the Chicagoland Speedway is critical, not only because it's first race of the chase, but also because it's the first of five 1.5 mile tracks in the championship. "You want to come out of the gate strong and get the best possible result you can," said Jeff Gordon. "If that's a win, great, if that's fifth, great. A lot can happen during the Chase. To me, 10 weeks is a lot of racing.

Jeff Gordon knows a little something about drive. You don't get to third on the all-time NASCAR wins list or win four Cup Championship with out it. But Gordon has always been a trailblazer among the drivers, both on and off the track. From guest hosting what was then "Live! with Regis and Kelly" or "Saturday Night Live" he has always been one of the first NASCAR drivers to step out there. Whether it's his drive to win races or his drive to help the community. NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon always puts forth a winning effort.

If you are a hardcore race fan, then have probably heard by now that NASCAR fined driver Denny Hamlin $25,000 on Thursday for criticizing the new car. Hamlin was asked after Sunday's race at Phoenix how he liked the car, and he answered that he didn't want to be a "pessimist, but it did not race as good as our generation five cars. This is more like what the generation five was at the beginning. " In a statement released with the penalty announcement, NASCAR spokesperson Kerry Tharpe said in part, "While NASCAR gives its competitors ample leeway in voicing their opinions when it comes to a wide range of aspects about the sport, the sanctioning body will not tolerate publicly made comments by its drivers that denigrate the racing product.” What I don't get is, doesn't it help NASCAR if drivers are honest about what is going on out on the track?

Many people are asking if Jeff Gordon of his career. Here's the deal, a down sliding Gordon is still better than most of the drivers in the garage during their prime. So yes, Gordon is still a threat to make the chase and win a fifth title. It is getting more difficult for Gordon. Maybe it's old age, maybe it's more competition, maybe it that its been awhile since he has had a crew chief that he clicked with. Maybe it's all three. Gordon certainly appreciates how hard this all is, even with all of his success.

There are plenty of postseason awards in NASCAR, so I figure why not add my two cents worth.  But you know me, I can't just give out the "best driver" or "comeback awards", that is boring. So with out further ado, time to give out the "Backstretchies. " The Gomer Pyle Award "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise" This has to go to the points champion Brad Keselowski. Sure BK had his break through season in 2011, be honest how many among you had him as the champion. Keselowski was able to stare down a five time champ and takehome his first Sprint Cup. Not bad for a guy who has only been a full time cup driver for three seasons.

Clint Bowyer's chance at a NASCAR championship will have to wait another year. The Emporia native appeared to be headed to Homestead, with an outside shot at the title. But instead, an accident caused when Jeff Gordon intentionally wrecked the 15 coming to the white flag, lead to a 28th place finish for Bowyer and officially eliminated him from contention in the chase. "It's crazy, I didn't even need to pass him, I was plenty content riding behind him," said Bowyer. "But he slipped up and I got under him and here he comes back.

So something odd has happened at Martinsville the last three times NASCAR has visited the Virginia track, someone not named Jimmie Johnson or Denny Hamlin has won. From 2006 to 2010, those two drivers combined to win nine straight races at Martinsville. Should make things interesting as both are still strong contenders for the chase as NASCAR heads back to Martinsville this weekend. "It should be a good track for us," said Jimmie Johnson. "As excited as I am, I know also that the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin)

Chicago may be the Second City, but it's first up in the Chase for the Championship. Getting off to a good start at the Chicagoland Speedway is critical, not only because it's first race of the chase, but also because it's the first of five 1.5 mile tracks in the championship. "You want to come out of the gate strong and get the best possible result you can," said Jeff Gordon. "If that's a win, great, if that's fifth, great. A lot can happen during the Chase. To me, 10 weeks is a lot of racing.

Okay, let's talk playoffs. There are technically eight drivers still alive to make the NASCAR Chase for the Championship. But unless your name is Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch, you basically have to win and get some help to get in. "We're confident coming into this weekend," said Busch. "We feel like we've always done well here.  We have really good notes that we have a good basis for being able to run well here and have a good foundation to start practice with.  We'll continue to do some of the same things that we've always done here in the past to make our car what it needs to be for the race on Saturday night.