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What has happened to Jeff Gordon and his team?

The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is asking the same question and tried to get some answers in a team meeting in the No. 24 hauler after Sunday's shockingly bad finish at Watkins Glen.

Gordon, who has four career wins on the road course, struggled from the start of the race. His radio wasn't functioning early, so he couldn't contact his crew. But the car wasn't very good, anyway, and he finished 29th.

It was a tough day. And Gordon, 500 points behind leader Kyle Busch and sixth in points, has had too many of those this season. He's still without a win this season and has seven finishes of 18th or worse through 22 races. He had four wins, one finish of 18th or worse and was leading the standings by 344 at this point last season.

If the Chase began this week, Gordon would be tied for last in the seeding, 80 points behind Busch.

"I can't believe we are where we are in the points, to be honest with you," Gordon told reporters after Sunday's race. "If it weren't for us having an awesome team, we wouldn't be where we are. As a team, we know we've got to get the cars running better, too."

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson acknowledged on a conference call with reporters Tuesday that "it's uncharacteristic for Jeff to be in this position for this long," but Johnson remains confident in Gordon, crew chief Steve Letarte and their team.

As is usually the case with Hendrick's teams, Johnson used the word "we" when talking about Gordon's team. That's because Johnson and Gordon's teams work together constantly and go through similar troubles and triumphs.

The two competed hard against each other all of 2007 before Johnson edged out Gordon to win his second consecutive championship. This season, Johnson has two wins and is third in points. He hasn't had nearly the difficulties of Gordon. But he has seen how experienced drivers and tight-knit teams bounce back from adversity and expects the same from Gordon.

There's still time for Gordon to get it done, with four races left until the Chase begins. As his luck would have it, this time last year was Gordon's only three-race hiccup. He was 27th at Michigan, where the circuit heads this weekend, 19th the next week at Bristol and 22nd after that at California. All three, though, are tracks where Gordon has had success.

"There is no doubt that he has had a challenging season," Johnson said. "Those guys are extremely dedicated to getting it right, and they will."

Rankings include drivers from all professional racing series and are based on wins, trends, contributions to the sport and not just driving ability. (Rankings from previous week in parentheses)

1. (1) Kyle Busch (NASCAR): Swept the road races this season. Slump? What slump?

2. (2) Lewis Hamilton (F1): Leads the points with seven races left

3. (3) Scott Dixon (IndyCar): Has six wins and a large points lead with three races left {TriRight}

4. (4) Tony Schumacher (NHRA): Four consecutive Top Fuel wins for points leader

5. (5) Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR): Despite flat tire, finished seventh at Watkins Glen

6. (8) Carl Edwards (NASCAR): Another top-10 keeps his momentum going

7. (9) Kimi Raikkonen (F1): Five points behind Hamilton in the standings

8. (10) Helio Castroneves (IndyCar): Seven runner-up finishes this season

9. (6) Felipe Massa (F1): Third in points and has time to catch Hamilton

10. (7) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR): Dropped to fourth in the point standings

Dropped out: none

Note: F1 didn't race last weekend.

Unstoppable: Kyle Busch clinched the top seed in the Chase by winning at Watkins Glen, his eighth victory.

Unbeatable: Scott Dixon won his sixth IndyCar race, tying Dan Wheldon (2005) for the most in a season.

Road expert: On a road course, Marcos Ambrose won his first Nationwide race and took third in the Cup race.

Milestone: Tony Schumacher won his 50th career NHRA Top Fuel event and ninth of the season.

Wrong call: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. waited too long to bring Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the pits, costing him a top-10.

Fuel: Helio Castroneves didn't have enough, and Scott Dixon passed him on the final lap in Kentucky.

Twos: Tony Stewart was runner-up for the second straight week and is looking for his first Cup win.

Back in: Matt Kenseth was 12th at Watkins Glen and moved into 12th in the Chase standings.