FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jeff Gordon knew how beneficial a solid run at Texas Motor Speedway could be for the No. 24 team.
Already locked into the final four racing for a championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Gordon saw Texas as an opportunity.
“It's an abrasive track at Texas. It's an abrasive track at Homestead," he said last week of the two 1.5-mile tracks, calling it an opportunity to learn. "That suits us and it helps."
So it certainly helped that Gordon ran the majority of Sunday's race at Texas inside the top 10, ultimately finishing ninth.
"Felt pretty good, top 10 -- I would have liked to of had a little bit more," he said. "We just didn’t have much on the short runs. It was something that we really struggled with today. This place is tricky with the bumps and the speeds that we are running. Something good to build on and work on.”
Gordon was one of the first people to make his way to Victory Lane to congratulate teammate Jimmie Johnson on his win, making it two in a row for Hendrick Motorsports.
And Johnson's success gave Gordon even more confidence.
“I thought we learned a lot this weekend -- I think we certainly know that our cars are fast because our teammate won," he said. "At the same time I think that we were here to execute and push hard, try to win, but also to just learn what we could. I thought we learned some stuff.”
And now he will continue to build on that knowledge in the penultimate race of the season next week at Phoenix International Raceway.
“We just have to keep performing," the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet SS said. "I think we showed again what we are made of. We fight hard. We get everything out of it, that’s for sure. We've got to bring a little bit more to the next couple of races."