Gordon Ready to Recapture Bristol Magic

Jeff Gordon has had two weeks of racing in a row that he would just like to forget.

Combine that with a season of ups and downs, and 2008 has been nothing like 2007 was for the four-time Sprint Cup champion. Thankfully for No. 24, though, the annual late-summer Sprint Cup visit to Bristol Motor Speedway is on tap for Saturday night.

With finishes of 29th and 42nd the past two weeks at tracks Gordon is normally quite good at -- Watkins Glen and Michigan -- the points situation for the Hendrick Motorsports team has tightened up quite a bit. Prior to that two-race stretch, Gordon was nearly in the group of drivers who could have been considered locks to the Chase.

A flat tire and a poor handle on his road course car derailed those thoughts as now Gordon sits less than 100 points from the Chase for the Sprint Cup cutoff spot of 13th position. Gordon currently sits ninth in the standings, but he was as high as sixth two weeks ago.

To go along with his ugly stats of recent, Gordon has failed to win a Sprint Cup race in all of 2008's 23 events.

History, though, is on Gordon's side as the Sprint Cup Series prepares to line 'em up for 500 laps at Bristol Saturday night.

For one, Gordon has five career victories at the half-mile track, 12 Top-5's, and 18 Top-10's. His last victory at the track came way back in August of 2002.

That win, though, holds some special meaning as Gordon prepares for Saturday night's race.

In 2002, Gordon was mired in a similar slump, albeit much more hyped in the media. That drought in winning for Gordon ended after 31 races when Gordon bumped Rusty Wallace out the way to score his first victory of 2002. And what's more is that Gordon was struggling similarly to how he has this season, coming into the 2002 race fifth in the standings after dominating his way to a 2001 title.

This season's streak has stretched to 27 races combining four races Gordon didn't win at the end of the 2007 season.

So, could the fortunes for Gordon change on Saturday night at Bristol?

He'd sure like to think so. A win could definitely propel No. 24 into the Chase with not only bonus points, but momentum.

Gordon will start third on Saturday night in the Sharpie 500.