Gordon returns to Texas, site of lone Cup win in 2009

Jeff Gordon is 1-for-the-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. That one win came at Texas Motor Speedway in April.
The Cup drivers are back in Texas for Sunday’s race. Gordon was asked about having only one win 33 races into the season.
“I’m a little disappointed in that,” said Gordon, who won the pole for Sunday's Cup race at Texas. “We’ve had a bunch of second-place finishes this year, so we’ve been close. But it is disappointing we haven’t been able to get more victories. It gives us something to work on for next season.”
Gordon was also asked how his team is approaching the last three Cup races of the year. It looks like Jimmie Johnson is well on his way to his fourth Cup championship in a row. Even though Johnson won’t talk about having it all but wrapped up, Gordon said the Chase is a race for second place at this point.
“Those guys are tough,” Gordon said. “They’re solid. They’ve really done their job. All we can do is go out and focus on our race team, our race cars, and get the best finishes that we possibly can, try to end the season on a positive note. We still have a great battle going for second in points. If for some crazy reason, those guys had trouble, we have to make sure we capitalize on it. I think our focus right now is winning races and trying to get to second in points.”
Finally, Gordon was asked about Danica Patrick making the move to NASCAR next year. It has been reported that Patrick, the only woman driver to win an IndyCar Series race, will make her NASCAR debut with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Series team in 2010. Gordon said he is a fan of the move.
“I think it would be great if that’s the case,” Gordon said. “I think that she obviously has a great presence and fan base. There could be a lot of excitement that could be built around it. I think she has a steep learning curve, so I think everybody’s anxious to see how she does. The only way she’s ever going to really know is to get in there and do it. It’s a big step. You got to give her credit for making that kind of a commitment. We’ll all just kind of wait and see.”

Photo: Jeff Gordon has won only one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2009. That came at Texas Motor Speedway in April. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)