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One of my favorite coaches out here in Western Kansas always talks about how much the media loves streaks. It's be this long since you beat this team, you haven't won here since this year. He's also quick to point out that we more often talk about those bad streaks.
It's a concept that Jeff Gordon is probably pretty familiar with. It's been long enough since Gordon won a race, that new fans might have thought that his middle name was Gordon, and his last name was "who hasn't won in x amount of races."
"You hear it from the media, you hear it from the fans, and it's hard to ignore that," said Gordon after the race."It's on all of us."
Not to mention he was chasing the ghosts of his own past success and the success of his teammate and prodigy Jimmie Johnson. It makes one question if his time has come and past.
"I think that when you've had the success that we have had in the past -- I guess every race car driver knows that there's going to be that time in their life when they are not going to go to victory lane again and you don't know when that time is going to come. I was so hoping that time was not for me now," said Gordon.
Clearly it wasn't and Gordon was finally able to put his streak to bed. But talk this week will still be o this week about the end of his streak, about Dale Earnhardt, Junior's streak and those of drivers like Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Burton. For Gordon though that elephant has been kicked out of the room. And maybe, just maybe he can start a different type a streak, the winning kind.
"I felt like I still have it in me. I know how passionate I am about it. But things have changed in the sport. The cars have changed. Tires have changed. Competition has changed. Days like today allow you to gain that confidence in yourself, just keep doing what you're doing, what's gotten to you victory lane in the past."