Jeff Gordon’s win last season at Homestead-Miami Speedway knocked off a couple of firsts.
One, it was team owner Rick Hendrick’s first win at that South Florida track. Two, Gordon had finally checked Homestead off his list.
Only one track now remains on Gordon’s to-do list – Kentucky Speedway. He’s 22-for-23 on the current slate of race tracks.
Gordon will get the chance to complete the unprecedented career track sweep on Saturday night in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT).
“I’d love to win at every track,” said Gordon. “That would be a special accomplishment.”
Gordon finished 10th in Kentucky’s inaugural race and was fifth a year ago. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kasey Kahne (second), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fourth) and Jimmie Johnson (sixth) also contended.
But 2013 is a different year – and there’s a different car, the Gen-6.
“Prior to last year’s race, I might have considered this to be one of my worst tracks,” said Gordon, who sits 13th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings following his runner-up finish at Sonoma last weekend. “But we had a good car and a good run here last year – one that we want to improve upon.
“Of course, we have the Generation-6 car here for the first time. We’re learning every single week with the new Chevrolet SS, and we’re learning every single trip to Kentucky.
“Hopefully, we can put it all together so we can check this one off the list.”
Over the last six races, Gordon has finished among the top three on three occasions, but out of the top 10 three times – and twice was 35th or worse.
“We’re just going to go and push hard and perform and try to put more finishes like (Sonoma) together,” he said.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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