Can Jeff Gordon win that long-awaited fifth NASCAR championship in 2009?

  

  
Jeff Gordon's celebrating again, finally....and eyeing that next Cup title (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   FORT WORTH, Texas
   Remember that Ray Evernham phrase 'Drive for Five,' and Jeff Gordon's bid to get that fifth NASCAR Cup tour championship a few years back?
   After titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001, Gordon appeared on the road to matching NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with titles no. Five, no. Six, and no. Seven, eventually.
   Well, eventually has proven to be a lot longer than anyone expected. And teammate Jimmie Johnson, with three straight, has been the biggest roadblock to another Gordon title.
    But Sunday's clear-cut victory in the Texas Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, for so long Gordon's nemesis, shows that Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte are indeed back on track, and on target.
   Letarte, who took the criticism of a winless 2008 season in remarkable stride, is clearly the man in command of this operation. He now understands what Jeff Gordon needs in this still-awkward car-of-tomorrow.
   Even Johnson, though he finished second here Sunday with a flourishing charge at the end after a dismal day of chassis change after chassis change, couldn't handle his teammate.
   However, the warning signs are there that this is shaping up as another Roush-versus-Hendrick season. Two of the fastest cars here were Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, in Roush Fords. And even Matt Kenseth, who hit a big pothole after opening the season with two wins, finished fifth, in a yeoman's effort on a windy, windy day at this lightning fast --- and spooky – track.
   After a day or two of tire testing a Bruton Smith's newest track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Gordon and wife Ingrid and daughter Ella (who both skipped this event, perhaps to let Gordon himself focus on the job) will take a break, along with the rest of the Sprint Cup guys.
   It will be a rare off-weekend for the series, and it probably couldn't come at a worst time. NASCAR needs some pizzazz, some sizzle, to catch the general public's eyes again, and Sunday's follow-the-leader California 500 – er, Texas 500 – didn't do it, despite a Gordon win.
   The NASCAR action, instead, will be Saturday at the one-mile Nashville Speedway in the Nationwide 300. And Kyle Busch, who dominated the Nationwide Saturday here (though a no-show for Sunday's 500) could be the man to beat again.
   And just what did happen to Busch Sunday?
   Pit problems early in the 3-1/2 race wound up dooming Busch.
   Pit road has been the only place drivers can pass each other with this car-of-tomorrow, and this season pit road has been filled with mistakes (like the ones that cost Edwards and Biffle Sunday) and close calls.
   So Busch finished a disappointed 18th.
   "We just didn't have anything go right for us in the first part of the race," Busch said.
   "The car wasn't bad, but when you end up in that deep of a hole, it's hard to dig out of it.
    "We got one lap back and were in the position for the Lucky Dog there toward the end, but just didn't have things fall our way."
   But then part of the problem was Busch's own doing, that unneeded brushback of John Andretti.
   Busch started eighth and was running top-five at the first round of pit stops, under green, 51 laps into the 334. A slow stop put him deeper in the pack. During the next round of stops, under caution at lap 97, Busch's crew had a lug nut hang, and the long stop pushed Busch back to 21st.
   And when Busch tussled with Andretti, he cut a left-rear, and that meant an unscheduled stop on lap 108.
   Then, on the next round of stops, again a lug nut problem hurt Busch.
   On top of that, NASCAR caught him speeding on pit road.
   So Busch was now two laps down, running 36th, at the halfway mark.
   Busch's teammates fared little better. Denny Hamlin, 12th, and Joey Logano (with a rough day)
Busch’s JGR teammates – Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano – finished 12th and 30th, respectively. 
   Meanwhile top finishers of note, considering the rough afternoon: Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, sixth through ninth.   
    Martin has had good, fast cars this season but terrible luck. Sunday he persevered.
    Montoya, now in a Chevy, has been a man on the move this season for Chip Ganassi.
   Kurt Busch, whose verbal tussle with car owner Roger Penske at Martinsville was interesting to follow, didn't play a big role Sunday but continued his season-long turnaround.
   The Cup tour next runs at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night April 18th.
  
  

  
Smoke them tires, dude! You deserve it (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)