Top Row Seat - Bud At The Glen

Dateline: 08/09/98

Ask around the garage area in Daytona during the month of February about what it takes to win the Winston Cup and you'll hear the same things over and over. "Consistency", "Limited DNFs" (DNF=Did Not Finish), and "Solid top five finishes" are going to be your most popular answers. By those measuring sticks Mark Martin is doing everything right to win his first ever Winston Cup Championship.

By any normal standards, Mark Martin is doing what it takes to win the Winston Cup. The problem is that "normal standards" don't seem to apply to his main competitor for the title this year. Jeff Gordon, Ray Evernham and the Rainbow Warriors are unstoppable.

Mark Martin has had four consecutive second place finishes and collected 15 bonus points for leading laps in three out of four of those races. He is also the only driver in the top fifteen in points that has not received a single DNF this year. So far this season Mark has four wins and one pole position. Back in Daytona, if you had looked into your crystal ball and told me these stats and then told me that he was second in points and losing ground I would have laughed you out of Florida.

However, Jeff Gordon has been nearly perfect since his miscue during "The Winston" when he ran out of gas. Over those same last four races where Mark Martin has four second place finishes Jeff Gordon has three wins and one third place finish. And he has stretched his points lead from 52 points over Martin to 82. This is simply remarkable.

Please don't misunderstand my point here. If you've been reading this space for a while you know that I am a long way from being a Jeff Gordon fan. I choose not to root for him when I'm at the race track, and I'm the first one to call him out when he makes a mistake. However, this guy is simply having an unbelievable summer.

Your Turn

Is this season's Winston Cup battle down to a two horse race? Or do Jarrett and Wallace have time to dig their way out of their 200+ point holes? Stop by the chatroom this Wednesday at 8pm EST and let me know how you think the last 13 races will shape up.

Or, join in the debate on the bulletin boards and share with the world what you think about PosterBoy's domination.

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