rpm.espn.com: Jerry Nadeau

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Friday, January 18

Jerry Nadeau
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com

Team: Hendrick
Car/sponsor/make: No. 25 UAW-Delphi Chevrolet

Jerry Nadeau
Nadeau

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Poles
Top-5s
Best finish

2001 17 0 0 4 2nd, Dover

Career 1 0 8 1st, Atlanta (2000)

2001 recap
The good: Nadeau entered 2001 with momentum, having won the last race of 2000 at Atlanta -- his first career Winston Cup win. Nadeau, respected crew chief Tony Furr and his Hendrick Motorsports crew had high hopes for 2001, including another win or more. Unfortunately, Nadeau and teammate Terry Labonte spent much of last season in the shadows of teammate and eventual champion Jeff Gordon and were shut out of Victory Lane. On the plus side, Nadeau had more top-5 finishes (four) in 2001 than he's ever had in a single campaign.

Season highlight: Without question, Nadeau shined the brightest at Dover in September. After starting a dismal 41st, Nadeau piloted his way up through the pack to finish second, the second-highest finish ever in his Winston Cup career.

The bad: Once again, "inconsistency" continued to be Nadeau's unofficial middle name. One week he'd have a top-10 finish, the next he'd struggle to finish 30th. For example, in 36 races, Nadeau recorded 10 top-10 finishes, but also finished 25th or worse in 15 others. The story was much the same in qualifying: 15 starts of 25th or worse, and only nine starts in the top-10.

Season lowlight: With his primary backer sharing title sponsorship, Nadeau was under a great deal of pressure in the Oct. 7 UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He started respectably, in 10th, but exited exactly at the halfway point (on lap 167 of the 334-lap event) due to an accident, finishing 40th, his second-lowest showing of the season.

Jerry Nadeau
An empty fuel tank cost Nadeau a win at Atlanta.

Key stat: Nadeau appeared to finally get things together late in the season, with three top-6 finishes in the last four races: fifth at Phoenix, fourth at Atlanta and sixth in the season finale at New Hampshire. The big question is whether he'll be able to carry that momentum into the 2002 season.

2002 outlook
What needs to be done: This season could very well be a make-or-break year for Nadeau. Now in his third season with Hendrick Motorsports, he needs to show improvement if he hopes to be around in 2003. Hendrick's operation is much like Richard Childress' -- if you don't win, you're history.

Nadeau still has a lot of raw, untapped talent, much of which he has yet to be shown. If he would be a bit more aggressive on the track, his name could be mentioned among other top young drivers such as Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. While Nadeau has continued to improve each season in the standings since 1997, but 17th just isn't good enough. He needs to dedicate himself to be more aggressive and mean, if you will, on the track. He has tried to be too much of a nice guy, like teammate Gordon, when he should have a sharper edge like Stewart. If Nadeau can do that in 2002, even greater success will follow.

Prediction: As he enters his third season with Hendrick, Nadeau is primed to break out of Gordon's shadow. If not, he may not be part of the operation for a fourth year. Nadeau has the ability and talent, he just needs to be more consistent and aggressive. If he can break out of his shell, he'll easily finish in the top-15. Any lower than that, however, and he'll be out looking for a new ride by season's end.

Your take
Can Nadeau fulfill his potential and challenge for a top-10 finish? Or have we already seen Nadeau's best? Here are your thoughts.

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