Gordon: 'Our confidence is high'

CONCORD, N.C. – Nearly 20 years ago, a young Jeff Gordon was vying for his first Cup championship trophy. Today, Gordon is the owner of four Cup trophies, 92 wins and 76 pole positions. But the 43-year-old driver isn’t done yet.

“We’ve got a great team,” Gordon said at the Chase Contenders Media Day on Oct. 1. “We’re having a lot of fun and certainly our confidence is high.”

For Gordon, his team’s confidence is part of an equation that may equal a shot at a fifth championship by the end of the year.

“[Our confidence level] builds over time with fast race cars, good pit stops, communication and chemistry that you have with your crew chief,” Gordon said. “It doesn’t get broken down overnight, it doesn’t get repaired to where it is for me today overnight.

“It started earlier in the season when we had great cars and were putting together great finishes and moving up in the points, getting some wins. And luckily, we’ve been able to continue that throughout the season.”

Gordon’s most recent win at Dover on Sept. 28 punched the No. 24 team’s ticket to the next round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, putting him one step closer to the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“Every win means something,” Gordon said. “But to me, what means so much is carrying momentum into the next round, carrying momentum into Kansas – a great track for us historically, as well as earlier this season.”

Gordon is currently the reigning champion of the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City, Kansas, having reached Victory Lane there on May 10 earlier this year. Consequently, Gordon believes the winning race strategy in the new Chase format will involve just sticking to what got his team this far.

“I think our team has worked so hard this year at the details and it’s been paying off a big way for us,” Gordon said. “So we really don’t plan on doing anything different this weekend – just hoping that everything that we’ve learned up to this point that we can apply it and make the most of it.”