Jeff Gordon returns to Kansas comfort zone

The need is just as great but the circumstances much changed.

During a strong start to the 2014 season, Jeff Gordon finally broke into Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway last spring, punching his ticket to the Chase.

Gordon would end up winning four races last year – the most since 2007 – and ended up sixth in the series standings.

Gordon could use a repeat performance in Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 in more ways than one.

This season started under much more difficult scenario for Gordon, who at one point was 35th in points. In recent weeks, he’s rebounded and now sits 13th but still needs a win to lock him in to the Chase.

That accomplishment has special meeting for this season, which he announced in January would be the last of his full-time Cup career.

“This has been a great track for us ever since we started coming here and we won the first two races

here,” said Gordon, who had a six-race stretch of Top-10 finishes ended with a 31^st-place finish at Talladega, Ala.

“I’ve always enjoyed this race track. It’s suited my driving style. The transitions are kind of forgiving and well-laid out.”

Gordon said he was concerned when Kansas repaved its surface in 2012 that some of the edge he had on the track may have been lost. Last season’s performance eased his fears.

“I think we proved last year that we can still be very competitive here. We had a great race. Kevin (Harvick) was extremely strong but we were right there with him,” Gordon said.

“Under a green-flag stop, we were able to get the lead and complete it. So this year we’re certainly optimistic about coming back with how well we ran here last year. We’re certainly excited about the weekend.”

Gordon’s top competition isn’t likely to change.

Harvick has finished first or second in the last six Cup races run on 1.5-mile tracks, including a victory this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and wins last fall at Charlotte and Texas.

And top candidate is the driver who won the three 1.5-mile events Harvick didn’t win during that six-race stretch: Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson won last fall’s Texas race and added wins at both Atlanta and Texas again this season.

The good news for Gordon is Johnson is his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports and Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing uses Hendrick engines, meaning his equipment clearly should be on par to theirs.

“I think our chances are always good when we come to Kansas. But I’m the first one to admit that our mile-and-a-half program is not up to par with a couple of other teams that seem to be beating us every weekend on these types of tracks,” Gordon said.

“No one’s working harder than (crew chief) Alan Gustafson and our group to find that extra speed and get ourselves in position to win races more consistently. There’s a lot of ways to win, so it’s not always guaranteed that you have to have the fastest car.

“But we pride ourselves on having the fastest car and we’re not going to settle for anything other than that.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Jeff Gordon returns to Kansas comfort zone."