GORDON'S GOLDEN MOMENT AT POCONO NOT HIS LAST (My latest column at WRALSportsFan.com)

He's essentially the lone remaining link between the "old" NASCAR and the "new" NASCAR.

Ever since he made his debut in the season finale at Atlanta in 1992, he was the tie that bound the Richard Petty era – which ended at that same Atlanta race – to the Dale Earnhardt era. He created his own era in the process.

He was called Wonder Boy. His backup band was the Rainbow Warriors. His crew chief directed him to three of his four Cup championships.

And while he hasn't won a championship since 2001 (his fourth, by the way), he's continued on unimpeded. Even in seasons that made him start wondering if he still had it or if he was still competitive, he mustered on, through good and bad.

Even when his young prodigy, Jimmie Johnson, went on to win five consecutive championships – with a sixth straight still possible – he never gave up hope that he'd still have one more go-round. Heck, he even changed his retirement plans more than once, telling us he'd never race past 38 years old.

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