Jeff Gordon 2010 Fantasy NASCAR Preview

[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=jeff+gordon&iid=7811188″ src=”0/9/5/9/Daytona_500_Practice_1069.jpg?adImageId=9955002&imageId=7811188″ width=”234″ height=”156″ /]Jeff Gordon

2009 Stats: Points Finish 3rd, 1 Pole, 1 Win, 16 Top Fives, 25 Top Tens, Average Finish 10.2, Average Position 10.6, Laps Led 827, Driver Rating 101.8

If Jimmie Johnson is worried anyone’s going to beat him for the 2010 championship he first should start by looking within his organization. Last year Jeff Gordon was poised to be Jimmie Johnson’s biggest challenger until early summer. The 24 team was quick out of the gate and in the first 7 races they had 1 win, 5 top fives, and 6 top tens. The worst he finished in that early stretch was 13th. Unfortunately for Gordon the championship isn’t decided in April.

Strengths- Jeff Gordon was arguably the best intermediate track driver in 2009. He didn’t win the most on these tracks, but he did score the most points last year.

Weaknesses- It’s strange to say this but he’s lost his touch on the road courses. Since Tony Stewart’s been on the scene Jeff Gordon’s been off it.

Intermediate Track Grade- A, Last year in the spring Texas race Jeff Gordon finally snapped his long winless streak that extended back to 2007. Gordon was extremely consistent on these tracks last season scoring the most top fives (10) and top tens (14). On the big intermediate tracks (Michigan & California) the worst he finished was 2nd.

Flat Track Grade- B+, Gordon shown a few brilliant moments on the flat tracks last year but overall his performances on these tracks was OK. Gordon performed better on the bigger flats then he did on the shorter ones.

Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B+, In the what have you done for me lately world of fantasy racing, he hasn’t done much lately. The best he finished in 2009 on these tracks was 13th. The last time he had a top ten on the plate tracks was back in 2007 when he won in the Talladega debut of the COT.

Short Track Grade- A, Gordon was strong at every short track in 2009. He had a top ten in all but one race. His strongest short track is still Martinsville. He hasn’t won there in years but he does have ten consecutive top fives at the track. For many years I’ve feared using Jeff Gordon at Richmond because I’ve seen him have his share of problems there, but in 2009 he had two top eight’s.

Road Course Track Grade- B+, His days of dominance on these tracks are over. He’s at his best at Infineon, and since 2007 when he spun leading he’s looked lost at Watkins Glen.

How to use Jeff Gordon from a fantasy racing perspective in 2010?

Jeff really excelled at the intermediate tracks last year so I would really suggest you focus using him at these venues. One thing about Gordon that I would strongly discourage you from doing is falling into the trap of automatically picking him at a plate track or a road course.

Click HERE for more Jeff Gordon stats

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