Gordon owns up, admits 'Dega lobbying
Friday, Nov. 06, 2009
AP
Jeff Gordon prepares to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)
Getty Images
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 06: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, stands on pit road after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Getty Images
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 06: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, stands on pit road after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
AP
Jeff Gordon describes to a crew member what his car is doing after a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Ralph Lauer)
Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 06: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, climbs in his car prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 6, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
FORT WORTH, Texas – Jeff Gordon on Friday admitted he was one of the Sprint Cup drivers who approached NASCAR officials last weekend and urged them to prohibit bump-drafting in the corners at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Many fans – and some of the drivers who complained to NASCAR about bump-drafting – have blamed the eleventh-hour prohibition for a perceived lack of competitive racing. The race was the seventh of 10 that will determine the championship.
"I was one of them," Gordon said at Texas Motor Speedway. "Bump-drafting through the corners is ridiculous. I don't think that had anything to do with the race you saw last week.
"If anything, I think it's what allowed 30-plus cars to be on the lead lap with 30 (laps) to go, which sometimes only makes the big wreck even bigger."
Gordon said NASCAR's crackdown on bump-drafting through the corners was the reason more cars made it to the finish.
"I thought that was a big positive. If you have a car that you can bump-draft the way that car does, that's the issue. It's not telling us what we can and can't do," the four-time champion said.
"We need to get out there and work hard to swap positions. Track position is so important in our series – and then they create a car that it's not important, that you can kind of get up (front) whenever you want.
"Eventually you're going to have guys that say, 'We got 500 miles to go, we're just going to sit here and ride.' "
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