Like It or Not, Gordon Is Back at Full Throttle

RICHMOND, May 4 -- Plastic bottles and half-filled beer cans rained down on Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet at Talladega last Sunday, moments after he won the Aaron's 499. Soon thereafter, theories about the fans' unruly behavior began flying, too.

Were they upset simply because Gordon won, because the victory was his 77th (one more than the late Dale Earnhardt on NASCAR's career list), or because they realized that the driver so many stock-car fans love to hate once again has established himself as the circuit's top driver?

While the answer likely was some combination of both premises, this much isn't up for debate: Six years removed from capturing his fourth championship, Gordon is back.

"It's as good as any run we've ever had," Gordon said Friday. "It's nice to know that we've still got it, that I still have it."

On Saturday, under the lights at Richmond International Raceway, Gordon will be aiming for his third consecutive victory -- and to strengthen his hold on the series points lead. He'll start from the pole for the fourth straight race.

The reasons for Gordon's return to prominence are as varied and complicated as fans' feelings toward the 35-year-old: The No. 24 Hendrick team has become more stable under the stewardship of crew chief Steve Letarte the past two years, while Gordon has discovered peace of mind away from the track and become more measured and calculating on it.

The confluence of those factors has resulted in Gordon's best season since the late 1990s. Nine races into the season, he has racked up five poles, two victories, three runner-up finishes and a third place, and enters the Crown Royal 400 -- the fourth Car of Tomorrow race -- with a 203-point lead on second-place Jeff Burton.

"The chemistry is there," Gordon said. "The communication is there. Things are going our way. We're bringing great racecars to the track."

That has a lot to do with Letarte, who took over from Robbie Loomis with 10 races remaining in the 2005 season. The relationship between Letarte, 27, and Gordon has flourished since.

Simply put, Letarte trusts Gordon. And vice versa.

That trust never was more evident than two weeks ago in Phoenix, when Gordon discovered the radio inside his helmet was malfunctioning as the start of the race fast approached.

"Calm down," Letarte reportedly told his driver. "Everything is fine. We're going to change the helmet if you want to change the helmet."

Letarte sent a crew member to fetch Gordon's backup helmet, which arrived on pit lane just in time. Gordon went on to win that race, thanks to the latest example of Letarte's quick thinking and resolute decision making.

"He had to work his way from the ground up, which is important," Gordon said. "He's learned about being a part of a team as a guy who started sweeping floors in the shop."

Things are falling into place off the track for Gordon, too. He married supermodel Ingrid Vandebosch in November, and they are expecting their first child in late June or early July. It's Gordon's second marriage after a messy public divorce from his first wife in 2003, a former Miss Winston.

"He's more comfortable today than he was the past few years," said Gordon's former Hendrick teammate Ricky Craven, who now works as an analyst for Yahoo Sports. "He's in a great place right now and I'm not only talking professionally; that's obvious. People can see that. He's in the right place personally. He's comfortable and happy with everything around him. Frame of mind is important for Jeff."

Craven was Gordon's teammate in 1997 and '98. Both seasons ended with Gordon winning the championship.

"He went about everything like a 20-year-old back then," Craven added. "He wanted to lead every lap. He wanted to lead the most laps. He wanted to get everything there was to get out of the weekend. But today, he's every bit the equal physically, but he's so much further ahead in terms of experience. He realizes there are more ways than one to win these races. He's got a great sense now of when to push and when to let things come to him."

NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter also has noticed a change in Gordon.

"He's married and he's going to have a child," Hunter said. "So his priorities have changed. But when you put that helmet on him and strap him in that racecar, he's still the great driver he always was. He's still got that fire in his belly, but he's learned and he's matured."

Racing Note: In Friday night's Circuit City 250, Clint Bowyer won the race off pit road with about 28 laps to go and easily went on to his fifth career NASCAR Busch Series victory.