Gordon contributed very little to Rolex 24 winning team

Jeff Gordon (L) – good at turning left, and left, and left, and left

Jeff Gordon got all the accolades, but in fact was the slowest of the drivers in the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac that won last weekend's Rolex 24. So slow in fact he had very little seat time compared to his teammates. They kept him out of the car as much as possible. They don't have right turns in NASCAR.

At least Gordon was man enough to admit he was slow.

"You know, I felt more prepared, and it was a better experience than I even had in 2007, which was a good one," Gordon said. "So who knows, maybe there's the chance of one being even smoother and better. I'm a competitor. I want to be full pace, and I want to contribute and add and make sure that it's something that helps this team win. I feel proud to be a part of it, but these are the real winners (pointing to his three teammates). I did my part, and I'm proud of that, but these guys, the job they did was amazing."

"In 2007, he said to me at the end of the race," Taylor said Sunday. "He goes, 'When I retire, I'd like to come back.’ So I made the call, and the first thing he said to me: 'Well, I need to check with my wife,' and I said okay. The next day he called me, and he goes, 'I'm all in here. I want this, I'm doing everything.’"

"I love driving this car," Gordon said. "I love working with this group. They have an amazing team, and they put a lot of hard work, sweat, blood, tears and preparation into getting here, and I felt pretty early on there was something special about it, and it's great to see how it's turned out, especially that great move that Ricky made at the end.

"But you know, for me, every time I get laps in the car, I get more comfortable, and so I want to get more laps," he added. "Wayne will tell you — the reason why I told Wayne at that time is when I retire, I didn't mean I'm retiring from racing, it's just I knew that the Cup car took so much of my time and that I wanted to give them — I felt like in 2007 I just wasn't able to fully commit, and this time I was able to, and it made a difference."