Gordon can win without Evernham

Gordon can win without Evernham

SONOMA, Calif. - As much as his detractors wanted to believe it,the problem was never the driver. That was for certain. But whenRay Evernham left and Jeff Gordon stopped winning with suchnauseating regularity, more than one cretin hooted into the nightthat Gordon was no more than Evernham's little puppet, and that onceEvernham stopped pulling the strings, Gordon stopped winning.

How anyone could watch stock car racing, whether in person or ontelevision, during the 1990s without recognizing the greatness ofGordon is beyond my comprehension.

Name a tough racetrack - Darlington, Dover, Martinsville, Bristol- and I'll show you a …