Gordon Closes In On Milestones

{fshare id=5147}

On Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, Jeff Gordon won the 89th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career — third-most on the all-time list.

Inevitably, in Gordon’s post-race press conference, the number 105 also came up. That’s the number of NASCAR Sprint Cup races won by NASCAR Hall of Fame member David Pearson, who is second in career series victories behind Richard Petty’s 200.

Appropriately, Gordon shrugged off the suggestion he might reach Pearson’s total, asserting that he’s more concerned with victory No. 90 than victory No. 105.

Given that Gordon has won eight races total since winning six in 2007, such concern makes sense.

Don’t forget, though, that Gordon is moving closer to another milestone he’s likely to achieve. Currently, Ricky Rudd holds the “iron-man” record of 788 consecutive Sprint Cup starts. Gordon is second at 736, and if he takes the green flag for every event this season and next, he’ll have 797 consecutive starts, eclipsing Rudd.

Gordon’s consecutive start streak is remarkable for running unbroken from the start of his career. Since his Sprint Cup debut in the final event of 1992 — the legendary Atlanta Motor Speedway race that also was Petty’s final run — Gordon has never missed a Sprint Cup race. There are growing numbers of fans and reporters who cover the sport who have never seen a Sprint Cup race that didn’t include Jeff Gordon.

After Saturday night’s race, Gordon said the cars crew chief Alan Gustafson is giving him make him feel like a 25-year-old.

If that means 20 more years of Gordon in the Sprint Cup Series, all the better.