ESPN Sprint Cup

ESPN.com preseason rank: No. 3

2009 Outlook

As rain pelted down at Atlanta Motor Speedway, fostering what felt like the thousandth qualifying rainout of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, Jeff Gordon sat at a table inside the track media center and said something few dreamed he'd ever be in a position to say:

He'd gladly go winless now if it meant the opportunity to win five or six races next year.

At that point, the season's 33rd race, he hadn't won. And he ultimately wouldn't win at all -- the first time that happened since his rookie campaign in 1993.

Frustrating? Certainly. But 2009 promises to be better. Gordon may not win five or six races, but he will win. In fact, if he hopes to have any shot at that elusive fifth title, he'll have to win.

"To me it's not even about getting back to Victory Lane," Gordon said. "Yeah, I want to win races. I want to be competitive enough to win races. I want to be competitive enough to lead laps. And competitive enough to go for the championship.

"That's really what it's all about, but I think that in order to do that you're going to win races along the way. I think we're very capable of doing that this year, and we're focused, we're working hard."

Gordon enters 2009 sixth all-time in victories, with 81. He needs just four to claim sole possession of third place on that list. He will lead his 20,000th lap this year. And some feel NASCAR's testing reduction stands only to benefit Gordon's established No. 24 team.

Gordon remains supremely confident in crew chief Steve Letarte, who shouldered much criticism throughout Gordon's winless season.

"No matter what kind of season we have, [having] won 13 races or no races, you always look at what you can do to be better for the next season, and that's the way I'm looking at it this season. I'm not dwelling on the fact that we didn't win," Gordon said. "I'm not sitting here saying we're not capable of winning. I think that we are.

"I feel like we really hit on some things later in the year, but it was too late. So we have a good direction. I really believe Steve is the guy. I mean, he's an awesome crew chief, and I know he took a lot of criticism last year, but I believe in him and we've made small improvements I feel like that were needed, and I'm doing everything I can to make sure that I play my role in getting us back to Victory Lane."

2008 Review

Statistically, 2008 was one of Gordon's worst seasons, which is saying something considering he finished in the top 5 nearly 40 percent of the time. Again, he failed to win for the first time in 15 seasons, and that's really all anyone cares about when it comes to the most dominant driver of his era.

In 2008, Gordon reiterated time and again that the No. 24 team just couldn't put the entire package together on any given Sunday. If the car was good, the pit stops were bad. If the pit stops were good, the car wasn't. And he'll be the first to tell you that there were some driver mistakes mixed in, too.

In addition, Gordon struggled mightily to get a handle on the new generation car.

"I believe in myself that I still have what it takes," he said. "Any veteran that you talk to, if they're honest with you, they'll tell you that sometimes it takes a little longer to transition through new cars, new setups, new tires, and so last year was a little bit of an adjustment for me that I think I'm well prepared for this year but might have gotten a little behind on it last year."

He has a shot at the title if: Gordon has adjusted to the new car.

He won't win the title because: Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle are on the racetrack with him.

-- Marty Smith