Jeff Gordon Ready to Rebound at Phoenix

[April 12, 2008]  AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Coming off only the second last-place finish of his career, Jeff Gordon remains confident that his season is right on track.

"It's not that our team's in trouble, it's not that our race cars haven't been good," the four-time NASCAR champion said after qualifying 11th for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Ryan Newman will start from the pole Saturday, with Elliott Sadler on the outside of the front row and Carl Edwards and Mark Martin right behind. Two-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will start seventh.

Even with a suspension failure at Daytona and crashes at Las Vegas and Texas, Gordon goes into the Phoenix race just two positions and 91 points out of the top 12.

"Other than the DNF's, I'm very happy with the season," he said. "We've performed well, our pit stops, communication, teamwork, all that's been great. We've run really well at a lot of tracks.

The victory here last spring was the first of Gordon's career on the one-mile Phoenix oval. That left only Texas and Homestead as current Sprint Cup tracks at which Gordon has not won.

His victory here in 2007 also was significant because it was his 76th, matching the career mark of Dale Earnhardt. And it also was the first of six victories by Gordon in one of best seasons of his career, even if Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson did beat him out for the title.

"Last year was an awesome year for us, all the way around," Gordon said. "And it was definitely one of the highlights of last season and definitely a highlight of my career. To go as long as we've gone without winning a race here, and I guess the irony of the fact that we tied Dale Earnhardt, to me, that's what made it so special."

Now Gordon would like to take advantage of his newfound winning ways at Phoenix to bounce back from a terrible race last week on that bugaboo Texas track, where he crashed and finished last in the 43-car field.

It is only the second time in 516 Cup starts that Gordon has finished last. The other time was in April 1999 - at Texas.

But there is another thing to be concerned about right now: Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet has not been running at the end of three of seven races this year, the most DNF's by any driver in 2008.

"If we were going back to Texas, we'd be really nervous, but also be anxious to try some different and new things," Gordon said. "The fact that we're going to a totally different racetrack allows you to put that out of your mind.

While Gordon has had his struggles, Roush Fenway Racing's Edwards already has three victories, including Texas. If not for a 100-point deduction for a missing oil tank cover after winning in Las Vegas, Edwards would be fourth in the standings instead of 10th.

Still, Edwards appears to be the man to beat right now and, after the Ford driver held off Johnson for the win last week, Gordon can envision some new rivalries at the front of the NASCAR pack.

"If they run like they did last week, yes, absolutely," Gordon said. "I mean rivalries come through competition, and when you are the guy to beat, like Carl is right now and Jimmie has been in the past couple years, then it is going to build rivalries.

"Again, those only come if you are consistently battling with those guys. If that builds and continues like it did last week, then it could turn in to a nice rivalry, which wouldn't be a bad thing for the sport."

[Associated Press; By MIKE HARRIS]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.