Jeff Gordon considering early retirement?

[Gilbert Sam, Jr.]

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Saturday, May 23, 2009

Jeff Gordon considering early retirement? With a wary eye toward
NASCAR's longest race of the year, four-time champion Jeff Gordon was
injected with an anti-inflammatory this week to quiet the nagging pain
in his lower back. So far, the treatment is working. And as long as
his No. 24 Chevrolet is handling well enough that he doesn't have to
use the brakes too much entering the high-banked corners of Lowe's
Motor Speedway, Gordon said he ought to be fine in Sunday's Coca-Cola
600. But for the first time since acknowledging his back trouble
earlier this year, Gordon conceded Thursday that if medication or
surgery can't alleviate the discomfort over a full season, he will be
forced to retire sooner than he had hoped. But he insists he feels
good about Sunday's race, despite the 600-mile distance. Short tracks
such as Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International raceway, he
said, jar his lower back far more, as do the circuit's two road
courses. But any amount of pain-related distraction behind the wheel
is too much, Gordon added -- particularly when you're battling heavy
traffic at 190 mph. "A racecar driver -- to be 100 percent focused to
make the car go as fast as it can, and to focus on the adjustments you
need to make -- you have to be thinking about the car," Gordon said.
"You don't want to be thinking about anything else or feeling anything
else." (Washington Post)
http://www.gnextinc.com/nascar/drivers/news/jeff_gordon.html

Edwards talks about possibility of missing The Chase:
http://www.gnextinc.com/nascar/drivers/news/carl_edwards.html

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