In 2007, Jeff Gordon recorded one of the greatest NASCAR seasons that no one will likely remember once it fades from memory, and that's a shame.

No one was bit more by the Chase for the Championship than Gordon, already a four-time champion, but a driver who probably would have earned three more if not for the playoff format instituted back in 2004. He scored the most overall points in 2004, 2007 and 2014 but it’s the 2007 season that still sticks out among the greatest efforts in NASCAR history, regardless of the eventual outcome. Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte won six times, but that wasn't even the most impressive statistic.

That distinction belongs to the No. 24 team earning 21 top-fives and a Cup Series record THIRTY top-10s in 36 starts.

Better put, there were only six races in which Gordon failed to finish inside the top 10. By the way, he did that driving two different cars -- the newly introduced Car of Tomorrow and the long-standing fourth-generation Cup car.

So what happened to prevent Gordon from completing the Drive for Five? Naturally, it was the Jimmie Johnson Championship Buzzsaw of the mid-2000s that had only just begun a season earlier. While Gordon’s overall numbers were indeed historic, Johnson’s were nearly as impressive -- and more so when it mattered -- during the Chase.

Johnson won 10 races altogether and four of the final five to cruise out of Homestead-Miami Speedway with his second straight Sprint Cup crown. Gordon won back-to-back races himself in the middle of the Chase at Talladega and Charlotte, and he still doesn’t quite know how he let that one slip away.

"Looking back on it, I still can't believe we didn't close out," Gordon told Autoweek during Daytona Speedweeks in February. "I had never found myself in that position and wasn’t able to pull it off. We had some really elite teams during my career, and we always pulled it off.

"So to me, I think 2007 was the year that the 48 team became that team themselves."

Even though Johnson had already won a championship, that fall was the year Gordon passed him the torch, albeit unwillingly. Gordon thought he had put Johnson away with his win at Charlotte, but they would not be denied.

"They were so resilient and got it right back," Gordon said. "When they won all those races in a row, it was devastating to us. In hindsight, it took the wind out of our sails. But for them, I think that championship and that battle catapulted them to where they are now.

"It gave them an air of invincibility that allowed them to win even more championships."

Even though Gordon lost the head-to-head battle during the playoffs, that season shouldn’t go ignored. And at the same time, it very well could be remembered as his personal best, even if he didn’t win the championship.

Many will point to his 1998 season as the best of all-time, but the Cup Series didn’t have the same degree of parity it does right now. For Gordon to roll off 30 top-10s in the current climate was nothing short of historic, even if he doesn’t totally agree.

"In hindsight, I’m definitely proud of that season," Gordon said. "I’m proud because I know what we were up against and we did some truly remarkable things that year. But I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the 1998 season was better.

"To me, you can’t say something was your absolute best work if you didn’t win the championship. We won the championship in 1998, and that was our goal. Our 1998 season was flawless. Ray (Evernham, crew chief) was at the top of his game, and I feel like I did everything I was supposed to.

"We can’t say the same things about 2007, and I wish we could because that’s one that got away."