Having taken his first win in the #24 Chevrolet Impala and his first win at Phoenix International Raceway, Jeff Gordon will now hope to secure another first at the venue this weekend with a first win of the 2008 NASCAR season.
Gordon has an impressive record at the Arizona circuit with eight top five finishes and 15 top tens in 18 career starts and will now hope to build on it this time around.
“Turns one and two are banked, while three and four are flat and the groove really widens out during the race,” he said. “It's a track where we always seemed to run well, but we just never could get that victory until last year.”
In that race, a decisive call by crew chief Steve Letarte helped secure that maiden victory.
“I've always been impressed with Steve's ability to remain calm during pressure situations,” Gordon continued. “We had a radio issue before the race and he calmly told me what signals to give him regarding the handling of the car during the race. Luckily, we were able to replace the helmet and didn't have to worry about it.
“During the race, he made a great call during our last stop. I was on pit road when a caution waved, and I was planning to drive straight through without stopping. He quickly figured out that we could make the stop without losing a lap, and that decision gained us valuable track position.”
Gordon enters Phoenix 14th in the point standings after a disappointing result at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, but he insisted that that result was now well behind him.
“Texas is behind us,” he said. “We always try to forget about the last race – no matter the result – and concentrate on the next one.
“We'll definitely try to figure out what the problem was in Texas so that it doesn't occur again. But our focus right now is on Phoenix and getting the best possible result.”
![Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. [Pic Credit image.net]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/416206.jpg)
