Will Gordon's back problems shorten career?

Gordon: Back pain could 'shorten my career'


Associated Press






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CONCORD, N.C. (AP) - Jeff Gordon found himself thinking about his back instead of his car. After hours of agony behind the wheel at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, Gordon wondered how much longer he could fight the pain.




"If my back was the way it was at Bristol this year, it's definitely going to shorten my career," Gordon said Thursday. "I can't race like that."


The Sprint Cup points leader began a series of tests, which revealed minor arthritis and other issues. That led to a procedure on Monday that called for an injection of lidocaine or anti-inflammatory medication.
So far, so good as Gordon prepares for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, a 400-lap, marathon night of endurance behind the wheel in NASCAR's longest race.
"I feel pretty good. They said it's going to take six or seven days for it to have its full impact," Gordon said. "Today in the car, yesterday in the go-kart event, I was feeling pretty good. I'm pretty happy so far with the results. Hopefully we can resolve what's going on."
The 37-year-old Gordon acknowledged he may have taken too long to address the issue. He drove in pain throughout a winless 2008, his first season without a victory since he was a rookie 16 years ago.
Stopping the pain was an offseason priority that led Gordon to start a new fitness program.
"I'm in the best shape I can ever remember being in. But all of the things I had been doing, the stretches, the fitness workouts, none of those things were making my back any better," Gordon said. "We tried things in the seat, lumbar supports and all those things."
Gordon said an MRI showed the arthritis and long-term back issues possibly related to trauma from a past crash
The pain increases when Gordon is on a short track like Bristol or road course when there is extra and he has to brake often. It's not as bad when Gordon is at longer tracks like the 1.5-mile Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he spent last week and races on Sunday. But Gordon said now was the time to get treatment.
"The other night, even though it was 100 laps, I really wasn't in too bad of shape," Gordon said of Saturday's All-Star race. "It's going to a place like Bristol, it's the road courses. Those types of places are the ones that affect me the most.
"That's why I did the treatment because I was, "Well, I'll be OK this weekend, but in two weeks we'll go to Richmond and I'll have to fight it there."'
The pain hasn't affected Gordon's performance. He enters the weekend with a 29-point lead over Tony Stewart. Gordon has won five times at LMS and his 1994 victory was his first Cup win.
Now that Gordon is in the mix for his fifth points title, he's hoping Monday's procedure will let him focus only on the car and the track.
"That's why I've been addressing it as much as I have," Gordon said. "There have been times, especially last year but even this year, when I've been thinking about my back when I should be thinking about my car."