Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
There was a lot of excitement and expectation for all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers and teams, Jeff Gordon included. Many experts believed that Gordon would return to his "old form" in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season mainly due to his new crew chief, Alan Gustafson. There were times this year where Gordon did indeed look like the Gordon of old, but the expectations that were built for a serious title run ended up not coming to fruition.
Gordon didn't wait long to get his first win in 2011. Gordon fought and beat Kyle Busch to win the second race of the year at Phoenix. While Gordon did notch two other top fives in the first 10 events at Martinsville and Talladega, he also had several bad and mediocre finishes as well such as 28th at Daytona, 36th at Las Vegas and 39th at Richmond. As the season progressed, Gordon began warming up and his finishes became more consistent.
Gordon got his second win of the year at Pocono and as the Chase for NASCAR's Sprint Cup came closer, Gordon became more and more of a favorite to win the 2011 crown. Gordon notched another victory at Atlanta and when the field for the Chase was set, many felt that Gordon was the man to beat. Unfortunately for Gordon and his Drive To End Hunger/Dupont team, the Chase was over before it got started. Gordon had a bad 24th place finish, running out of fuel in the closing laps at Chicagoland. A fourth at Loudon gave hope that the team would be able to overcome the early hindrance but four bad finishes in the row knocked the team out of the title hunt.
Gordon and his #24 team did an excellent job all season long adhering to NASCAR's rules for pit road. Gordon was caught speeding three times in 2011, one of those coming when he ran out of fuel and could not judge his tachometer speed. The pit crew was on their game all year only having one penalty for a loose tire.
2011 Statistics For Jeff Gordon
8th in Sprint Cup standings
3 wins (Subway Fresh Fit 500, 5-Hour Energy 500, AdvoCare 500)
13 top 5s
18 top 10s
922 laps led
2011 Penalty Report For Jeff Gordon
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 3 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 7 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
Race 27 - Speed-Entering pits, Happened at end of race- 1 lap was taken away
Race 31 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end