Gordon looks set for RCR seat in '02

Childress had previously insisted that he wouldn't make a decision until the middle of next month, but Gordon's seventh placed finish from 42nd on the grid at Phoenix on Sunday left him in no doubt. Gordon took over the seat at RCR from Mike Skinner, who will race for Morgan-McLure Motorsports next year.

"He did a great job for us all day," said Childress. "He's what I expected and he's going to do a helluva job next year."

The result was Gordon's first top 10 finish in an oval Winston Cup race, although he finished second at the Sears Point road course earlier this year for Ultra Motorsports. Gordon's previous attempts at the Winston Cup have been blighted by a lack of budget and poor fortune, but Childress believes the former Champ Car racer has come of age in stock cars.

"We've helped him, we've calmed him down," he added. "We told him just to be smooth. We're going to approach this thing different from he's ever approached it. I've got a lot of respect for him as a race driver and he has a lot of respect for Childress Racing, and we're going to get there."