Monday, May 11th 'What If' Question

The monkey is off Jeff Gordon’s back.

After weeks of leading the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings only to have it mean nothing, Gordon finally got his much wanted and needed win Saturday night in Kansas. In doing so the 42-year-old made it known that he feels 25 again and his Drive to End Hunger team are more than ready to chase a championship.

Gordon’s last championship came in 2001, under the Winston Cup banner. Since NASCAR has changed the format and title sponsor, the four-time champion has tried repeatedly to earn a Sprint Cup championship. Here again in 2014, Gordon has a solid foundation underneath him in order to make that happen.

And then there’s what it would mean. Just a few years ago many were ready to send him packing into retirement, mostly because Gordon had begun to acknowledge the toll racing was taking on his body. Specifically his back and how much pain he was in during competition and after climbing out. Except Gordon has gone through a transformation the last few years and with how competitive his Hendrick team has been, suddenly it doesn’t appear he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

“I just feel so competitive out there, and that makes me feel young again. I just see how hard these guys are working. It’s making me work harder,” Gordon said on Saturday. “I’ve been really working harder on my fitness, which I think is helping me mentally and physically be more prepared out there. When the cars are that good, my back just doesn’t seem to hurt as much.

“The whole retirement thing I think is thrown out there too much, and I’m probably somewhat to blame, but there’s no secret, I’m going to be 43 this year, but, man, if 43 is like this, I can’t wait for 50. This is all right. I’m having a good time. That’s why I feel young, because I’m just having a great time.”

But …

What if Jeff Gordon goes on to win his fifth title, should he / would you like to see him retire by going out on top?

@John_Sikora my guess is that he will do 1 more year and then give up the seat to Chase Elliott…

@Lance_sells I would like to see that but I can’t see him doing that.

@TomLglEdtr nah, never a huge fan but have developed lots of respect for Jeff over the years. He should race as long as he wants.

@justin24hr as a fan since I was a kid, I’d say that would be a perfect, knowing his retirement is sooner rather than later anyway.

@CraigMintz09 would love to see that! Spend time with his daughter and show her the ropes!

@GERI1324FAN Ummm…pardon the intrusion but who the hell says we have to limit Jeff Gordon to just one more?

@ecfr1978 he’s a company man, he’ll race one more year and then turn his seat over to Chase Elliott no matter what happens, #respect

@jrm1219 he’s earned the right to races as long as he wants & as long as he is competitive could see him race 3 more yr 

@Chase_Wilhelm No better way to go out than on top.

Tuesday, May 6th 'What If' Question

Brad Keselowski is a Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series champion who makes more good moves than bad.

His peers will admit that, like Jeff Gordon did, and some of them did Sunday in Talladega. But only because they were left trying wonder about the move that Keselowski made to race with the leaders while six laps down in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

It was fine for nearly the entire event. Keselowski believing he just needed a few cautions and he could take his car that was certainly fast enough, back in to contention. And then with 51 laps to go he spun in front of the field and took out 12 cars behind him. The subsequent reaction was anything but friendly, with Matt Kenseth (whom Keselowski had a problem with racing a week ago in Richmond) saying that if roles were reversed, Keselowski would be lecturing others.

The accident since sparked a debate about whether Keselowski should have been running where he was. The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford was indeed one of the fastest cars in the field, however he found himself multiple laps down after he spun from earlier contact with Danica Patrick. While restrictor plate racing is known for its large and numerous wrecks, Keselowski was playing the hoping game of having just enough that he could get back on the lead lap.

And it was certainly possible. Jamie McMurray, who was also numerous laps down, did get about five laps back and finished 29^th after running dead laps for much of the event. Unfortunately for Keselowski, he didn’t have as quiet a day with the first big wreck, which many admitted they knew was coming, occurring because of a driver who was multiple laps down and was racing with the leaders.

But …

What if Brad Keselowski had only been a lap or two down when he spun in front of the field, does furious reaction towards him still hold?

@MooreNASCAR Don’t agree with it, but I say it’s definitely still highlighted by lots when expressing their opinion.

@88isDaleJr One lap I can see. But Not 6! It was shear stupidy!!

@jrm1219 If your one lap down you still only need to race any other cars one lap down & wait for a yellow 

@jackrlewis if he was battling for the free pass fine, otherwise he didn’t belong there