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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gordon on bubble with one race to go


Jeff Gordon is hoping he won't have to park his car after Saturday.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Chris Jenkins USA TODAY

After Jeff Gordon finished a disappointing 21st in Sunday’s race at California Speedway, team owner Rick Hendrick said, “When we run like we ran tonight, we don’t need to be in the Chase.”

Gordon agrees. He and the No. 24 team certainly will be scrambling in Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway to try to earn eligibility for NASCAR’s playoff-style Chase for the Nextel Cup. But Gordon doesn’t see much of a difference between sneaking into the Chase, only to continue running poorly in the final 10 races, and missing it entirely.

“Honestly, if we perform this weekend like we have the last few, we don’t belong in the Chase anyway,” Gordon said Tuesday. “You know, all we’re going to do is go out there and finish 10th in the points.”

Gordon also hinted there could be a shake-up in the team’s leadership, although Gordon has gone out of his way all season to say crew chief Robbie Loomis – who led the team to a championship in 2001 – should not be blamed for the team’s struggles.

Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Kurt Busch have clinched spots in the Chase. Jeremy Mayfield will clinch if he finishes 39th or better Saturday.

Here is an overview of the six bubble drivers’ momentum and racing record at Richmond. Green flags are good, yellow flags are so-so and red flags are poor:

Carl Edwards (eighth)

Momentum: Green flag. Edwards has three top-five finishes in the past six races.

Record at Richmond: Yellow flag. He finished sixth in this race last year and 21st in May.

Matt Kenseth (ninth)

Momentum: Green. Kenseth has finished seventh or better in four of the last five races.

At Richmond: Green. Kenseth has five finishes of seventh or better in the last seven races there.

Jamie McMurray (10th)

Momentum: Yellow. McMurray has only one top-10 finish in eight races since July.

At Richmond: Green. He finished in top 10 in his last two races there.

Ryan Newman (11th)

Momentum: Red. Newman has finished 30th or worse in three of the last five races.

At Richmond: Green. In seven career races, he has one victory, two seconds and a third.

Jeff Gordon (12th)

Momentum: Red. Gordon has only two top-10 finishes in last eight races.

At Richmond: Yellow. Gordon has two career victories there, the last one in 2000.

Elliott Sadler (13th)

Momentum: Red. Sadler’s best finish in the last nine races is 12th.

At Richmond: Yellow. In 13 career races, he has led only one lap.