Allen Bestwick

Much was made last season of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon failing to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. Well, it appears that might well have been a one-year fluke.

While I know it’s still early in the 2006 season, it's my opinion that things are looking up for the two biggest stars in NASCAR's top series. And I’ll venture to write at this early juncture in the 36-race schedule that both drivers will compete for the Cup championship this fall.

Tracing last season's trouble
The failure of Junior and Gordon to qualify for last season’s championship could be traced to a similar condition: an inability to be consistently competitive at the front of the pack on the intermediate tracks, those ranging in length from 1.5 to 2.0 miles. These types of speedways make up most of the Cup schedule.

The package that makes a stock car go fast -- the combination of aerodynamics, mechanical chassis settings like shocks, springs and tire pressure, plus engine horsepower -- is a constantly evolving thing.

Teams are always researching new ways to make their car the fastest, and when someone finds a new piece to that formula that does increase speed, it’s not long before everyone else catches on and tries the same thing.

A huge trend over the last few years has to do with what in the sport is termed “attitude.” That's not the demeanor of the driver, but the position of the car’s body as it cuts through the air at high speeds.

By keeping the car’s body in a certain attitude, generally nose down, rear up, level or left-leaning from side-to-side, the aerodynamic downforce on the car is maximized, allowing the car to go through the corners at a greater speed.

To attain this attitude, teams began using a package of shocks and springs that were quite different than what was used in the past. Example: Now the right rear spring is the stiffest in the car, whereas before the right front spring was the stiffest.

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That’s just one small example of many things teams do to maximize body attitude. One extremely important, but very under-discussed factor in racing is a driver’s confidence in his car’s handling.

I came to understand how important this is the first time I drove on a superspeedway at the Richard Petty Driving Experience. When you barrel off into a corner, in order to keep the right foot down on the gas a driver must have complete confidence that when he asks his car to turn, it will.

Predictability the car’s behavior is supremely important to a driver being able to race at top speed. If he doesn’t believe in what the car is going to do, he simply must slow down as no one wants to crash at those high speeds.

NASCAR drivers may be brave, but they’re not stupid!

When working through the new setups, both the Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon teams were struggling to find a chassis combination that would give them both the speed of the fastest cars, and a feel in the car their driver would have confidence in.

The result was a series of finishes last season that left both drivers on the outside looking in where as far as the Chase was concerned.

Changes prove good
Late last season changes were made to the teams of both drivers with young New Englander Steve Letarte appointed as Gordon’s crew chief while Tony Eury Jr. reunited with Earnhardt Jr. as his crew chief after a split of a little less than a year.

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Both teams have made headway towards the front of the pack since those changes, and their results early in 2006 indicate things are back on the right track.

Junior, speaking in late March at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway said, “We’re definitely better than we were last year…I think we’re better than we were in 2004 (when he won six races).

"The competition is different and better, but my cars are better, and the way they’re better is, to me, there’s a lot more confidence going into building them. There’s a lot of confidence in what Tony Jr. is doing to the cars…I feel a lot more excited about each weekend, each race, and about the rest of the season.”

For his part, Gordon also is expressing a great deal of confidence about where his team stands early in the campaign.

“I think we’re a stronger team effort. We’ve got everybody on the same page, feeling good. We also know we’ve got some room to grow with me driving some new setups, and I feel like I’m getting that comfort and excitement going to the racetrack,”  Gordon said.