NASCAR Texas preview: Jeff Gordon readying for championship finale, others just trying to qualify

Rarely is a Jeff Gordon victory overshadowed, especially in his final season before retirement, but in a week where driver conduct, acts of revenge, and an unprecedented penalty have garnered the bulk of the headlines, Gordon’s win a week ago has become almost an afterthought.

Not that Gordon minds playing second fiddle, considering the alternative.

Because as Matt Kenseth sits home serving a two-race suspension and Team Penske stablemates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski cope with being in an insurmountable points hole where their only means of advancing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff is by winning one of the next two races, Gordon enjoys a luxury provided to no one else, thanks to his Martinsville victory.

Regardless of what may transpire Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, Gordon’s place in the Nov. 22 four-driver championship finale is secure, even if the attention may be elsewhere.

“It gives us the opportunity to step outside the box and experiment more than what we have done in the past,” Gordon said. “That’s nice, and we will try to take advantage of the position that we are in.”

That he can race without consequence Sunday carries some irony, as Texas a year ago is where Gordon’s formidable push for a fifth title unraveled after Keselowski forcefully tried to wrestle away the lead on a green-white-checkered restart. Gordon suffered a cut left-rear tire that caused him to spin and finish 29th. The next week he was eliminated from the Chase by a single point when Ryan Newman executed a bump-and-run off Kyle Larson on the white flag lap.

And in a week dominated by talk of payback, Gordon made it known Friday that he hasn’t forgotten Keselowski’s brazen attempt to pass him last November and would have no qualms of returning the gesture if the opportunity presented itself Sunday.

But even more so, Gordon’s focus is on using Texas as a gauge to measure where the No. 24 team stacks up heading into the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Both ovals are 1.5-miles in length and abrasive, and so a strong Texas result would bode well in two weeks, as the same tire compound is being utilized at each track.

“We want to win. We want to keep the momentum going all the way into Homestead,” Gordon said. “We also need to build up our confidence on mile-and-a-half (tracks), so we can have the confidence we need at Homestead that not only we are strong team, but we are a team that has a car that is performing on the level we need to contend for the win there.”

The liberty provided Gordon is beneficial beyond just the chance to experiment on chassis setups this weekend. It also allows a respite from the bedlam that for the second consecutive season has consumed NASCAR’s playoffs.

Over the past six races the tumultuousness has included a physical confrontation between good friends, Kenseth and Logano engaging in a personal vendetta, allegations defending champion Kevin Harvick colluded to bring out a badly needed caution in his favor at Talladega, and several contenders stumbling, as Keselowski and Logano did at Martinsville.

“It is about surviving to advance,” Harvick said. “It’s not really what it looks like on a piece of paper. It is really about surviving and advancing no matter how it all adds up. At this particular point, that is really our goal for the next couple of weeks and whatever is presented to you on that particular weekend, you have to react to it and try to overcome it the best you can.”

If anyone knows about the Chase’s volatility it would be Harvick, who came through in two must-win scenarios last season and did so again in Round 1 of this year’s playoffs. And a week ago, he rallied from an unscheduled pit stop for a rear fender damage to finish eighth. That result provisionally keeps him above the threshold to qualify for Homestead, seven points clear of Carl Edwards, the first driver out.

“I think we’ve overcome a lot of situations and performed at the right time,” Harvick said. “The only clean race we’ve had in the Chase has been Dover ... every other week we’ve had something go wrong, but the performance for the most part has been there. It is just situations have continued to creep up, but we are still in it. That is all you need to be at this time.”

While Gordon has secured his championship eligibility and Harvick tenaciously clings to the final transfer spot, the Penske duo of Keselowski and Logano are in a far more precarious position.

Keselowski’s 22nd-place Martinsville finish and Logano’s 37th have them trailing Harvick by 24 and 28 points, respectively, with two third-round races remaining. Barring something miraculous, that margin cannot be overcome, making Texas and Phoenix virtual must-wins.

“In reality, we know we will probably need to win two of the next three to win the championship,” Keselowski said. “We have that opportunity and there is no reason to focus on what we don’t have, which is the ability to finish consistent and make it to the next round. I would rather spend time focusing on what we do have, the opportunity to win two of the next three and win a championship.”

The Penske camp took a step towards reaching victory lane in qualifying Friday, with Keselowski capturing the pole and Logano laying down the fourth-fastest speed.

“We all know 1.5-mile tracks have been a Team Penske strong suit over the last couple of years,” Logano said. “Our team is fired up and ready to go. We know what we have to do. We have to go out there and win.”