Nadeau

What a difference a year makes.

This was supposed to be the season in which Jerry Nadeau made his mark upon NASCAR and challenged for a top-10 points finish. After all, he followed a 20th-place finish in 2000 with a 17th in 2001 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports as a teammate to four-time and defending Winston Cup champ Jeff Gordon.

Things haven't gone quite as planned for the Danbury, Conn., native.

After a slow start which saw him sitting 28th in points with just one top-10 in 11 races -- a string of races completed with five consecutive finishes of 26th or worse -- Nadeau and Hendrick parted ways. Both team and driver said the decision was mutual.

"I was very unhappy and they were, too," Nadeau said at the time. "The Hendricks are good people and you don't want anyone involved to be unhappy, so I said, 'Maybe I need to go.'"

Nadeau, who cut his racing teeth in go-karts and Skip Barber competition, filled in for an injured Johnny Benson on several occasions and ran a race in a Michael Waltrip-owned car before eventually signing on to finish the season in Petty Enterprises' No. 44 car, becoming the third driver in that ride (after Buckshot Jones and Steve Grissom). But 2002 certainly hasn't been the year Nadeau envisioned.

"It's been tough. It's been a terrible season. Last year we had around 11 top-10s, a bunch of top-fives and finished 16th or 17th in points. This year we've just been struggling," said Nadeau, who scored four top-fives and 10 top-10s with Hendrick in 2001. "I've got one top-10 and I drove four or five different race cars. I'd like to settle down and get with a good team and get the right people behind me."

Nadeau, 32, has one career victory, winning the 2000 season finale at Atlanta, and came a few drops of fuel short of successfully defending that win with another at Atlanta in 2001. This season, while running for Petty at the Infineon Raceway road course, Nadeau fell two laps short of a would-be victory when his car broke a gear.

Nadeau finished second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. last fall at Dover, the site of Sunday's MBNA All-American Heroes 400.

"When you get so close -- so close you feel like you could almost reach out and touch it -- to winning a Winston Cup race, and you just miss it, it's a very humbling experience," Nadeau said. "Last year, we had a good car and we had a really good run, but we just fell short at the end.

	Nadeau has 18 career top-10 finishes.

"It's tough not to win, but finishing second isn't the worst thing in the world. Hey, it beats the heck out of third. And it is a whole lot better than 32nd, especially at a place like Dover. Let's face it, Dover is a track where you don't complain about a top-five finish. In fact, you almost relish it."

Despite having posted good finishes at upcoming tracks such as Dover, Atlanta at Rockingham, N.C., scoring a win likely isn't in the cards for 2002 as Nadeau finishes the season with a Petty team that is improving but isn't necessarily on the verge of winning races. In fact, the team hasn't won a race since John Andretti's victory at Martinsville, Va., in 1999. This year, the team's best finish is a sixth-place by Grissom at Richmond, Va., in May.

"We just got a new crew chief -- Gary Putnam just came on board. We're just trying to get the team better," Nadeau said. "We're just trying to get our racing package a lot better. It takes time and I've only been here for the last three or four races, so it takes time."

The nine races remaining on the 2002 schedule might very well be the final nine for Nadeau in the Petty car. He's currently exploring options for 2003, but nothing is secure yet.

"(My plans are) just to stay healthy and I've got a baby on the way, that's about it," he said. "I'm not sure where I'm headed. I'm going to finish of the year with the Pettys and try to do the best job I can for the 44 team and then basically I'll be hunting around looking for a job next season. Hopefully something will come up soon. I feel pretty good about it."

After bouncing around from team to team this season, Nadeau is looking for a situation any driver would jump at -- a ride with a winning team.

"You want to be with a team that you know has got the right budget and has got the right people and has the demeanor to win races," he said. "I just want to be with a winning team -- that means a lot in this sport."

Are Nadeau's chances good for finding such a ride?

"I hope so," he said. "There's not many deals out there left, but hopefully something will come up."

Rides for next year could become available with Andy Petree, MBV, Chip Ganassi and Cal Wells, among others. And with sponsorship of the No. 44 in question for 2003, Nadeau isn't likely to be returning to Petty.

"I don't know. Unless they get a sponsor, I doubt it," he said.

Whatever ride he does end up with, Nadeau can only hope it's a bit more rewarding than the roller coaster he's been on this year.