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Driver: Jeff Gordon -- Vallejo, California
Team: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
Points: 2nd (-77)
2006: 6th in Cup Standings
Key Stats: 6 wins, 10 poles, 21 Top-5s, 30 Top-10s
Back in 2008?: Yes
It's not often that a driver can set the record for the most Top-10s ever in a season, win six times, have a single DNF, earn the most points in each race of any driver and not walk away from the season-ending race without a championship trophy in hand.
That's the case, unless your name is Jeff Gordon and the season is 2007 and your facing Jimmie Johnson.
Gordon had arguably one of the best seasons ever put forward in NASCAR history -- one that rivals his 13-win 1998 campaign -- but fell 77 points short of the title after Jimmie Johnson put forth one of the best 10-race stretches in NASCAR history at precisely the right time.
That surge, of course, came during the ten-race Chase playoff system that NASCAR instituted in 2004.
Gordon was no slouch in the Chase, though. Two wins at Talladega and Charlotte combined with 9 Top-10s would have won the title for Gordon in any other Chase year, but the monster from within at Hendrick Motorsports ultimately showed Gordon up in a what would have been a storybook ending.
Getting married during the last off-season, having a baby with wife Ingrid in June, and an impressive run of consistency and winning would have made Gordon's 2007 one for the ages had the championship came in November. But it didn't.
That, though, doesn't mean Gordon is bitter. Some of his fans claim that the No. 24 scored the most points all season, though its not technically the truth. Gordon and the rest of the world knew back before Daytona in 2007 what the rules would be concerning the Chase, and so therefore, when things evened up after Richmond, Gordon didn't score as many points as Jimmie Johnson.
Plain and simple -- Johnson was the rightful champion.
2007 was still a storybook season for Gordon championship or not. Sure, it would have been nice for his fans to score a fifth title, but there's always next year.
Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte have now been the fire of a championship battle and acknowledge they have to gamble a little bit more to find Chase success. With that in mind, Gordon will be one of a handful of drivers that could truly compete for the Sprint Cup title in 2008.
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