Two other contributors to Gordon's slide would appear to be father time and the COT. He's only recorded six wins in the past five-plus seasons (going winless in two) after NASCAR switched to the COT full-time (and now Gen-6). Of course, as mentioned already, changes in crew chiefs plays into that, too. I think Gordon said it best this past weekend. When they bring a good car to the track, they have bad luck. When they don't have bad luck, they can't seem to get the car right. That pretty much sums up the past season-and-a-half for him. He's on the downward slope of his career, but with a little better luck, he'll win more races and have more top fives.