[tkj24]

SCENEDAILY - 09:56AM ET THURSDAY JUNE 14, 2007


Jeff Gordon's statistics through the first 14 races of 2007 are impressive, even for a four-time NASCAR Cup champion.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has four victories, 10 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and five pole positions. Those are better numbers for the first 14 races than in any other of Gordon's 14 seasons.
Gordon leads the Nextel Cup point standings by 242 points heading into this weekend's Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway, but he wants more.
"We've had a great start to the year, but we want to carry it up to and through the Chase [For The Nextel Cup]," Gordon said. "We've been competitive almost every race. When we weren't, we either worked really hard on the car throughout the race and made it better, or my crew chief, Steve Letarte, made the right call in the pits to give us a shot at the win or a good finish."
Gordon credits a strong finish to 2006 for his solid start to this season.
"I think our start this year can be traced back to the Chase last year," Gordon said. "We finished sixth in the final standings, but that doesn't begin to tell the whole story. I felt we were very competitive during the entire stretch, but a fuel pump failure at Kansas, a blown engine at Charlotte and an accident at Talladega took us out of contention.
"Those [failures] must be limited if you're going to have a shot at the championship."
Gordon said he believes it is harder to win a championship under the current format.
"I had reservations about the Chase For The Nextel Cup when it was first introduced," he said. "But it has added a level of excitement for the fans during the final 10 races and added a level of intensity for the teams and drivers, as well. I believe it is much tougher to win a championship under this format."
Gordon will look to pad his impressive stats this weekend at Michigan, a track at which he's won twice.
"Michigan is one of my favorite tracks - it's a driver's track," Gordon said. "If your car is not working the way you'd like it to, you can try different lines. You can drive the bottom, middle or top. You can try going into the corner high or you can try entering the corner low.
"I think that's the reason most drivers like it. I know it's my favorite."

[atown85]

finished second in fontana as well. I don't expect him to slow down.