Gordon hoping for 'real' win

The four-times champion last won a championship race on October of 2007 at Charlotte while battling for the title against teammate Jimmie Johnson. He says despite last Thursday's win not counting for the drivers' standing, it was a boost for his team's morale ahead of Sunday's Daytona 500.

"I went home and was talking to (wife) Ingrid and she was it was so great that you won, and I said 'yeah baby that was fantastic but don't think that that counted'," Gordon said. "She's like 'that didn't count?' I was like 'No!'

"While it counted for us and the motivation and the confidence builder and while it was fantastic to be in victory lane, we realise that we've got to do it on Sunday. I think we've got what it takes to do it on Sunday."

When asked about how much he has been affected by being winless for so long, he said his confidence has not been brought down although he reckoned his team's morale had been affected, contributing to their low-key performance during last year's Chase.

"How much have I thought about it, how much has it affected me? Probably not as much as you would think," Gordon said. "I've been racing for a long time and I've lost a whole lot more races than I've won.

"I've been fortunate to win enough to know what I bring to the table and what it takes. I never thought that we were ever invincible we were just going to go on and win races forever.

"The only thing that I really focused on last year that maybe got to me was how bad I want to win. How much I don't like losing and I saw it in our team as well and how that can break the team down so quick. Winning can get you up to a certain level but losing can just take you down in a second."

Although Gordon is optimistic about his chances ahead of Sunday's race, he doesn't expect his speed to necessarily translate into the next few races. That makes him eager to make the most of his pace ahead of Sunday's race at Daytona.

"I think that it's going to be very interesting to get to the next few races after Daytona and I'm kind of jumping around here but to me, we've got to take advantage of Daytona," Gordon said.

"Daytona is a place that we're strong. It's an opportunity that I felt got away from us not only last July but also last February and I don't want that opportunity to slip away especially after yesterday's race.

"We know we've got the car and the team that can win this event but we also know when we leave here we've got to step it up. We're probably not going to be this strong against the competition when we leave here. That's going to be a work in progress as the season goes on."

Gordon has won the Daytona 500 three times, besides three other wins at the 2.5-mile oval during the summer event.