Five reasons Jeff Gordon will win the 2015 Sprint Cup championship
In his final season as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, four-time champion Jeff Gordon is one of four drivers who will race for the series championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Following are five reasons why Gordon finally will complete his drive for five this year:
5. Experience — At 44 years old, Gordon is the oldest and most experienced driver left in championship contention, and he's got a veteran team around him at Hendrick Motorsports. Neither he nor his team is prone to getting rattled or making mistakes when the going gets tough. And Gordon's confidence is sky high after six straight top-10 finishes and a Chase-best average finish of 7.78. Plus, he won at Homestead in 2012 and led 161 laps last year. He's ready and he's confident.
4. All hands on deck — With his three teammates already eliminated, every man, woman and child at Hendrick Motorsports has but a single thought: do everything humanly possible to get Gordon his fifth championship. This is the strongest team in NASCAR year in and year out, and the more than 500 folks at Hendrick will summon their collective will and all of the considerable resources at their disposal to get Gordon the title.
3. Big names out — While Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. will be tough competition, the three biggest winners in the sport are already gone from title contention. Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win 16 races, but none of them can win the championship, so Gordon doesn't have to worry about beating them at Homestead.
2. Now or never — Talk about a sense of urgency. Gordon knows it's now or never to finally win that elusive fifth championship to go with the four he won in 1995, '97, '98 and '01. This is Gordon's last shot at a title and he wants it bad. So do all of the folks who work with him, led by boss Rick Hendrick.
1. Hollywood ending — Since its inception in 2004, the Chase has produced some remarkable finishes: Kurt Busch lost an entire wheel and tire in the inaugural Chase, missed the pit wall by inches and rallied for a top-five finish and the championship. Jimmie Johnson won four straight Chase races in 2007 and Tony Stewart won five of 10 in 2011 to take the title. Last year, the championship came down to the final laps before Kevin Harvick sealed the deal at Homestead. NASCAR loves drama-filled endings and what could possibly be more dramatic than Gordon winning it all?
