Gordon will fight to finish, but past not encouraging

As if trying to catch his teammate for the Nextel Cup point lead wasn't daunting enough, Jeff Gordon has another opponent in his quest for a fifth career title.

History.

While Gordon's 30-point deficit to Jimmie Johnson with two races to go might not seem like much, according to the record book, it's basically insurmountable.

Jeff Gordon needs to find a way to get past Jimmie Johnson. (AP)

Since the beginning of what is known as NASCAR's Modern Era, which began in 1972 when the schedule evolved from nearly 50 races per year to its current basic structure, only twice has a driver been able to overcome a margin of more than 30 points with only two races left.

The late Alan Kulwicki turned the trick in 1992, making up 80 points on leader Bill Elliott to claim the title. And Dale Earnhardt overcame Mark Martin's 45-point advantage with a pair of races left to win in 1990.

Other than that, a 30-point lead has been safe for nearly 35 seasons.

"History was never my favorite subject," Gordon said with a smile as he addressed the championship picture heading into Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

"You have to give credit to Jimmie and the 48 crew," said Gordon. "They've made some good calls in the pits and they've had cars that can win.

"But 30 points isn't that much. The biggest thing right now is we're getting beat, and they're the ones winning the races. We have to put pressure back on them and outperform them.

"They're on a roll right now, and we've got to answer this weekend."

Gordon had the answer the last time the series visited the flat, one-mile desert track back in April. He scored his first Cup victory at PIR in the spring and is hoping that success helps shift the pendulum back to the No. 24 team's side.

"All we can do now is go to Phoenix and race our best," Gordon said. "We hope we can turn it around and get some momentum back on our side."

While Johnson has both momentum and history behind him, the defending series champion isn't taking anything for granted, including the ability of his teammate to make up serious ground this weekend.

"We have momentum going our direction right now, but it's only 30 points and if you look at the last two weeks, I've been able to make up roughly 60 points," Johnson said. "Jeff hasn't had bad races the last two events. He's had strong finishes. So it's not like he's had bad nights. I can finish 10th, he can win, and I'm back in second."

As the duo's torrid championship battle continues to heat up, they are both doing their best to keep their friendship intact. That's not easy when your best friend is trying to do everything possible to beat you on the race track.

"Jeff is a great friend and great teammate, but he's also the most challenging guy out there for me to beat," Johnson said. "And that's with all the respect in the world. But I don't feel bad for him, and I know he wouldn't, either.

"If something happened where he had bad luck and we ended up winning the championship, that's where I would feel bad. But the fact that we are racing as hard as we are for it right now, it's racing."

In addition to Johnson and Gordon, there's another member of the Hendrick team trying to accomplish something in the last two races of the season.

Even though he'll move to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, Kyle Busch is hoping to end his Hendrick tenure on a positive note with a win at Phoenix or Homestead and perhaps a third-place finish in the Chase.

Busch insists that despite his pending change of address, he's focused on his current job driving Hendrick's No. 5 Chevrolet.

"I think I finished in the top five or pretty close to the top five in every Chase race that we've had that we haven't had trouble in," Busch said. "I think that shows that I'm (not) taking anything away from what I've got going on this year to look forward to next year."

After finishing last in the 10-driver Chase field a year ago, ending his Hendrick career just behind his higher-profile teammates in this year's playoffs would be an accomplishment.

"If we can finish out the year third in points, that's going to be pretty respectable, and I'll be happy with that," Busch said.