Gordon plans to get back into title chase

~ The four-time Cup champion won the Daytona 500 last year but struggled for much of the season.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeff Gordon walked along pit road at Daytona International Speedway with crew chief Steve Letarte, oblivious to the fans around him.

People clapped and yelled to the four-time NASCAR champion, but Gordon kept talking to Letarte.

"I was just telling Steve that I think we're going in the right direction here," Gordon said. "I just reminded him not to let any of the outside stuff bother him."

There is plenty of that to deal with -- especially the pressure to get Gordon another championship.

Gordon is coming off perhaps the most disappointing year of his career, struggling through the middle of the 2005 season and failing to qualify for the playoff-style Chase for the Championship.

Starting with the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Gordon is intent on making a run at another title this year.

At 34, the driver that Dale Earnhardt once dubbed "Wonder Boy" should be entering the prime of his career. As an added bonus, he is three wins away from matching the 76 chalked up by Earnhardt, his hero and early career nemesis.

The responsibility for getting the No. 24 Chevrolet team back into the title fray rests squarely on the shoulders of the 26-year-old Letarte. He has big shoes to fill after Ray Evernham guided Gordon to his first three titles, and Robbie Loomis helped Gordon win his last title in 2001.

Gordon and Loomis missed another championship in 2004, finishing third, but 16 points behind champion Kurt Busch and eight behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the closest finish in NASCAR history.

After winning three of the first nine races a year ago, including his third Daytona 500, Gordon's season crumbled. Late in the year, Loomis made the decision to make a change and return to Petty Enterprises. He passed on the honor -- and pressure -- of being Gordon's crew chief to longtime friend and colleague Letarte.

"Robbie was a tremendous crew chief," Letarte said. "He and Jeff won a lot of races and a championship and he's a first-class guy. He taught me a lot, and we still call each other up and talk pretty regularly."

Some wondered whether becoming Gordon's crew chief was a little too much responsibility for someone so young. But Letarte doesn't seem to mind.

"You know, I'm new to being a crew chief, but I've been a part of this team for 11 years," he said. "I've known just about everybody on the team. I worked with Ray. I worked with Robbie. It didn't feel any different to be crew chief. I came to the same shop and I just had a little bit different role."

The new driver-crew chief team got a head start on 2006 by working together for the final 10 races of 2005. Loomis stepped aside early, finishing the season as a team consultant, to give Letarte a jump start on his new job.

It was somewhat embarrassing for Gordon not to make the 10-man, 10-race Chase. But the early start with Letarte resulted in a win at Martinsville, four other top 10 finishes and renewed optimism for this year.

"It's obvious those guys work well together, but that's no surprise," said Loomis, executive vice president of race operations for the Petty team. "Jeff has known and worked with Steve for a long time. Both of them are smart and capable people and I think they are going to have a lot of success together."

Gordon is sure Loomis is right.

"Having those last 10 races together really gave us a lot of momentum coming into 2006," Gordon said. "I think we found some things that were important to work on over the winter. Now, we have to make them work for us."

Gordon said winning championships has definitely gotten harder under the Chase format.

"I would say that, with the points system being the way it is, it's more competitive, it's harder to win the championship," he said. "But, at the same time, I think it's easier to have the opportunity to win because if you think about it, as long as you're in the top 10, you got a shot at winning."