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Jeff Gordon's team makes repairs to his front fender during a caution period at
Fontana. Gordon ran into debris on the track, costing him track position.
Credit: AutostockGordon confident team can fix engine woesBy Elliott Gordon,
NASCAR.COM
September 6, 2004
01:30 PM EDT (17:30 GMT)
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FONTANA, Calif. -- After having already clinched a spot in the Chase for the
Nextel Cup, you would think that Jeff Gordon would just walk away from Fontana
content with a 37th-place finish and the 52 points it paid.

You would have thought wrong.
Gordon: ""I've won a lot of championships with those engines because they don't
fail." Credit: Autostock
"Well, it could be a lot more frustrating, I can tell you that," Gordon said.
"We will drop a position in the points, but I was really proud of how well we
were doing and how well the team reacted to the issue we had."

Following his early exit from the Pop Secret 500, Gordon now trails teammate
Jimmie Johnson by 50 points for the top position in the standings, but if
everything stays the same following Richmond, that shrinks to just five anyway.

"Right now it's just really about getting ourselves in gear for those last ten
(races). I'm obviously not happy with the engine issues right now, and we're not
trying anything crazy," Gordon said.

"We've got to figure that part out. We're not going to be a threat for those
last ten (races) if we don't get that figured out.

"The team is strong, everything is strong, and certainly the power is
incredible, but we've got to make sure it lasts until the end."

Johnson, who finished a mediocre 14th, took notice of Gordon's engine troubles.

"You're going to have problems. I thought we had everything fixed and addressed.
I noticed the No. 5 (Labonte) and the No. 25 (Vickers) were still running at the
end," Johnson said. "Maybe it was some bad luck for them (No. 24 team) like we
have had throughout the year.

"It's weird. We haven't changed anything and just want to build on what we have
going into the final ten and now stuff is breaking."
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After Johnson had engines expire in three straight events (Watkins Glen,
Michigan and Bristol), Gordon did express some concern when asked if he was
worried about those incidents.

"You're darn right I am, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Gordon said. "Even if we were
testing stuff out, but we weren't. You know we test things that we feel we're
confident in that are going to make it to the end, but we're not even doing
that."

Some drivers in the garage aren't buying that, though.

"I am not a bit surprised at the problems Hendrick cars are having," Ryan Newman
said. "I'm pretty sure they're experimenting right now, and they should be. They
have the ability to because of the points. We would if we were in their
position."

Whether the No. 24 team is testing parts or not, Gordon did not plan on getting
involved with analyzing the engine problems.

"(Hendrick engine program director) Randy Dorton and his guys are the best in
the business. I have utmost faith in him," Gordon reiterated.

"I've won a lot of championships with those engines because they don't fail, and
I'm still confident when it comes time for this championship that we're going to
make it to the end."



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