Gordon, fresh off a victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway—his first of the season—is third in the standings, 27 points behind leaders Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson with three races left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

The four-time Cup champion admits that it would take something extraordinary for him to win the title with three races remaining at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead—all good tracks for both Kenseth and Johnson.

“We're all alive, but right now there's two that are in it,” Gordon said Sunday. “Our job is to go to Texas and make it three. Realistically, legitimately, we've got to put pressure on those guys.”

Even with the win Sunday, Gordon gained only three points on Kenseth, who finished second, and seven points on Johnson, who wound up fifth.

“It's going to be tough to catch them,” Gordon said. “All we can do is go out and perform at our best and just see what happens. The nice thing is that we're not doing the points racing right now, we're just trying to go out and win races and not think about protecting anything.

“It’s just go and give it everything we've got.”

While that is the typical attitude for any racer, Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports team appears to be much more in sync in recent weeks.

He has eight top-10s in the last 10 races. He had eight top-10s in the first 23 events of the season.

One of those top-10s over the first two-thirds of the season came at New Hampshire, where Gordon finished 10th. And he was not happy, considering that he and his team had tested at the track.

It was there that the season might have turned after a heart-to-heart talk with crew chief Alan Gustafson.

“We were not very good that day, and I had a bad attitude, and he and I had a heart-to-heart conversation afterwards, and I'm so proud of him for stepping up because what happened, the things that I said, the attitude I had was just not the way we were going to get ourselves into victory lane or where we needed to make it in the Chase,” Gordon said.

Gordon made the Chase a couple of months later but not under normal circumstances. NASCAR Chairman Brian France added him to the Chase after NASCAR determined that Michael Waltrip Racing and perhaps other teams tried to manipulate the outcome of the final regular-season race to determine who made the Chase. Gordon was in position to make the Chase before a late spin by MWR’s Clint Bowyer—which appeared to be intentional—changed the outcome of the race.

And now, seven weeks later, Gordon is at least within striking distance.

“We've proved right now we're a third-place team,” Gustafson said. “Ultimately, at the end of the year, can we be better than that? We're going to do our best.

“I think the proof is in the pudding. Your finishes and your results ultimately determine how good you are or you aren't, and I think that we've represented ourselves well, and I don't think we're done.”


KENSETH NO SURPRISE


Count former teammate Carl Edwards among those who are not surprised to see Matt Kenseth battling for the Sprint Cup championship in this year’s Chase.

Edwards and Kenseth were teammates at Roush Fenway Racing for several years before Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing this year.

“I’m not surprised by it and that’s because I’ve seen how much Matt pours into his driving and over the years I’ve seen how fierce of a competitor he is,” Edwards said. “I mean, he’s a relatively quiet guy and he’s pretty understated, but he really, really drives the wheels off a racecar from the start of the race weekend to when the checkered flag falls.

“If you look at the organization, the Gibbs guys have statistically been very good the last few years, so it just seems like everything worked out and him and his crew chief and everyone are working well together and a couple of those races this year they did have some really good luck. They had some bad luck, too, but it appears to be one of those years where a great driver and a great team and great luck are all coming together and they’re making the most of it. I can tell you one thing, Matt won’t make mistakes. He will not lose the championship. He’ll be one of the strongest parts of that team, in my opinion.”

Edwards and Kenseth weren’t always the best of friends at Roush, with Edwards even threatening to punch Kenseth after a race at Martinsville. But Edwards says that changed over the years and he’d now like to see Kenseth win the title.

“First of all, Matt and I, we obviously didn’t get along really well at one point, but, to me, he’s one of the guys I’m closest with in the garage,” Edwards said. “I really think a lot of Matt and once I understood him and I assume he understood me a little better, I think that we were as good a teammates as I’ve ever had, so I think a lot of Matt. I think he was a huge asset to our team.

“It is interesting to watch him in this championship battle. There are times where it’s still hard for me to think of him as not my teammate because of how much time we spent under the same roof, so, yeah, to me, as much as I hate to see him do well at another organization—I wish he was doing it here—I think it’s good to see him have the success because he definitely works hard and has given his life to racing.”


TWEET OF THE DAY

What sports figures are saying in 140 characters or less.

“@GodwintheWalrus: I’m going to the Circus this weekend, Wild Asphalt Circus that is @TXMotorSpeedway see you there.” —Clint Bowyer, headed to Texas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s race.


PHOTOS OF THE DAY


Kurt Busch and friends play Dukes of Hazzard for Halloween

Darrell Wallace Jr. shows off his grandfather clock for winning at Martinsville

Contributors: Bob Pockrass, The Sporting News staff