Full Throttle

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon was among a group of drivers testing today at Kentucky Speedway.

The test session was Gordon’s first ever at the 1.5-mile track in Sparta. Elliott Sadler and Regan Smith also tested at the track today.

Crew Chief Steve Letarte described the Sonoma, Calif., experience in which the No. 24 started fifth and struggled at the outset as a microcosm of the team’s season through 16 of 36 races.

“It definitely wasn’t the car we wanted at the start of the race, but the guys dug down deep and made good adjustments. Jeff drove a really smart race and we ended up getting a good finish out of it.

“That seems to be a lot of our year this year. Hopefully, we can learn some stuff here and get our cars faster come the rest of the year,” Letarte said.

Despite having three of its four drivers among the top six in the current Sprint Cup Series standings - team newcomer Dale Earnhardt, Jr., ranks third while defending series champion Jimmie Johnson occupies fifth - the Hendrick Motorsports teams have publicly stated they feel they are behind in the development of the current series car design.

Letarte was asked to estimate how close he thinks his team is to producing the results that had the No. 24 leading the series standings by 171 points after taking four wins, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in the opening 16 races of 2007.

“I think our teammates have done a better job catching up. We’re still struggling getting the balance we really need. I think we’re a lot further off than 75 or 80 percent. I think we’re not even halfway there. I hold us in higher regard. I expect to have a higher potential. We may be 30 to 40 percent off our opponents, but I think we have way more than that to gain. Hopefully, we’ll get the advantage we had last year,” he said.

Although Gordon has reeled off four top-five finishes in the past six races, Letarte claims the No. 24 team has more work to do to fulfill its 2008 potential.

“I think I’m happy with everything except our cars. We have a great pit crew, strong guys. We just can’t seem to get the cars comfortable and fast at the same time. It’s hit or miss, one or the other. I think we need to be on track more, work more and see if we can get some comfort in the cars,” Letarte added.

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