by Mark Kriegel

With a week to go before the Chase, NASCAR's most accomplished active driver — the best of his era — seems an oddly forgotten man. But Gordon knows of what he speaks — the sanctity of enmity, the blessing bestowed by epic antagonism. Drivers don't have to hate each other, but it's best if their fans do.

"Those things are important," he said. "Dale and I had that. I was just a kid driving the wheels off the car, but he recognized the entertainment value of it."

More than seven years have passed since Dale Earnhardt Sr. died on the last lap of the Daytona 500, and 13 years since Gordon beat him out for the first of his four championships. They were near-perfect antagonists: the good old boy in black and the clean-cut kid from Indianapolis by way of California. Racing hasn't replaced Earnhardt, but then, neither has Gordon.

"I miss racing with him and the excitement it brought," he said. "Well, not so much with him, because sometimes he was a real pain in the butt on the track. But he was so good for the sport and I miss him so much. You know, just walking through the garage area and having him come up and grab you by the neck. Little things like that. Or looking up in your mirror and seeing him pushing your rear bumper and being mad about it. But also, laughing about it later."

Perhaps, years from now, Busch, 23, and Edwards, 29, will recall their rivalry just as wistfully. Or maybe, what they shared was just a single Sunday. Whatever the case, their futures remain unformed. Most of Gordon's career, though, is now behind him.

"I know that those years are winding down," he said. "I want to win another championship, and I think we can win another championship."

Around the track

Follow the action:

• Chicagoland practice speeds
• Chicagoland schedule, entries

Watch:

• Video Central

Picture perfect:

• Earnhardt at Goodwood
• 2010 Hall of Fame nominees

Read all about it:

• Dale Jr. would consider racing Indy 500
• Eury Jr.: Split with Junior was needed
• Mayfield won't race at Chicagoland

Analysis:

• Hammond: Battle Royale
• Larry Mac: Midseason report cards

I think? In the five years since NASCAR went to the Chase format, Gordon is Cup-less. What's more, both the driver and the team have had problems adjusting to what is still euphemistically referred to as "the new car."

"Cars change, technology changes," he said. "It happens to everybody. It's not that I can't adapt to the new car, it's just going to take a little longer than a younger guy."

Still, currently ranked 10th, Gordon has his chance at winning another Cup this season. What he can't do, however, is change his history. It is what it is. He's 37, and won't be racing much past 40. He won't find another rival like Earnhardt, nor will he break the record of seven cups shared by Earnhardt and Richard Petty, both of whom were grizzled veterans by the time they became household names.

Gordon can detect the changes in his body. He does more bicycling to keep in cardiovascular shape. He's sure to keep hydrated. He needs to stretch every morning.

"I used to just get in the car and go, pop right back the following day," he said. "Now it takes me a day and a half to recover from some of these races."

All the stretching in the world won't do much to prolong his time as a racer. But Gordon is OK with that: "Nineteen, twenty years in this sport at this level is a great, great career."

Earnhardt died at 49. Petty retired at 55. Earnhardt won four Cups between ages 39 and 43. Petty won at 35, 37, 38 and 42. But Gordon — with four cups — remains unmoved by these figures.

"Guys have gone 'til they're 50," he said, "but they didn't start racing until they were 30. There's a big difference."

Besides, he added, "the sport has changed. You're not going to win any championships when you're 50. You're just not."

Having been behind a wheel since he was five, Gordon was NASCAR's version of a child star. He's also a model for younger drivers like Busch and Edwards who seem to have been driving professionally since the onset of puberty. Gordon made his debut in the old Busch series in 1991. He was 20. Racing is all he knows. If not a driver, what might he have been? He doesn't really have an answer.

"I'd have been screwed," he said. "I don't know. I probably would've worked for my step-dad. They had a machine-shop business. I probably would've gone to college and pursued something that could've helped them out."

Retirement, if that's what you want to call it, will afford him a chance he's never had. "I've created some great opportunities outside of racing," he said.

Maybe he'll replace Regis, the television host for whom he occasionally fills in. Or maybe not. "I don't plan on living in New York City and doing a show five days a week," he said. "I've been traveling my whole life. I don't think I'll be able to just stop traveling altogether."

Nothing is set. But his daughter, Ella, is a year old. "I want to see her grow up," he said. "I want to drive her to school."

That is his only sure-fire plan. And there's only one way to screw it up. "If I race 'til I'm 50," he said. "Then I'll have been a failure."