Ask Jeff Gordon what time it is, and he may look down at his watch, look back at you, smile and then say "It's my time."

While most of the country was setting its clocks forward last Sunday for Daylight Savings Time, the defending Winston Cup champ was thinking about how it was time that he got in the game and became more competitive this season.

	Jeff Gordon collected his first top-five finish in 15 races last week at Texas.

One day later, Gordon did just that, earning his best finish thus far in 2002 with a second-place showing at the rain-delayed Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It was Gordon's first top-5 finish in 15 races, dating back to his victory last September at Kansas Speedway.

"It definitely felt good to get that first top-five," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet. "We've been competitive this year, but we've just had some bad luck fall our way.

"To come out of a place like Texas, which has not been very good for us, is a big momentum booster for us and something that can turn our season around. I say turn our season around, but we're sixth in points and we haven't had the finishes we want. But I can't say it's been an awful start, either, because we are still in the top-10 in points. We're certainly not out of this thing and if we can get some momentum, I think we can win some races."

And now time may be on Gordon's side as he comes into Sunday's Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Currently sixth in the standings, Gordon returns to Martinsville, which has been very good to him in his career: he's won there three times and recorded 14 top-10 finishes in 18 starts.

"Going into Martinsville, one of my favorite tracks and one of our team's favorite tracks, we're very excited," Gordon said. "We've been taking a little bit different car there the last couple of races, and it's qualified real well but hasn't raced as well as we would have liked it to.

"So, we're going to kind of combine things with those two cars and go back more to the old style that we've raced with there that we've won with. As long as we can get it qualified up front, I think we've got a real good shot at winning that race."

His runner-up finish at Texas could become one of the most pivotal runs of the year if Gordon is to successfully defend last year's title. While being in sixth isn't bad, Gordon hopes his Texas two-step will help him waltz back upward in the standings.

"I certainly hope so," Gordon said. "Unfortunately, our finishes haven't been any indication of the way we've run. We've run pretty well the last 4 or 5 races. Really, everywhere except Las Vegas, we've run pretty well and had a shot at winning races. But that stuff doesn't matter if you don't bring it home in those positions."

Gordon has won just one spring race at Martinsville (1997). His other two triumphs have come in the fall race there (1996, 1999). He started last year's Virginia 500 from the pole, only to finish 12th.

"This may be the most important pole position of any of the tracks we visit simply because of pit stall choice," Gordon said. "Getting a stall where you can just drive straight out is a huge bonus. It's not hard to tear up a good race car here just by driving down pit road."

Gordon could be higher in the standings -- and maybe even have won a race or two -- had it not been for bad luck. Most notable was the celebrated tangle Gordon had with Kevin Harvick in the season-opening Daytona 500 that triggered a massive 18-car pileup, as well as wrecks that took him out of the running at Darlington, S.C., and Bristol, Tenn.

"When we wrecked in those races, we were either winning or in the top five," Gordon said. "That's something that may have happened only three times in all of 2001, but it's already bitten us three times so far this season."

At just over a half-mile around, the Martinsville oval is known for tight racing and lots of fender banging, making it very similar to Bristol. With only 12 degrees of banking in the turns, one false move can quickly turn the race into a demolition derby.

Last spring's race was a good example, as nearly one-fifth of the event (98 of the 500 laps) was run under caution, primarily due to wrecks.

"You have to be very patient here because you're going to be working through heavy traffic all day," Gordon said. "Being impatient will eventually put you behind the wall and it's pretty hard to pick up points and move up in the standings from there."

But picking up points is exactly what's on Gordon's agenda. The finish at Texas has reinstilled a confidence in the No. 24 team not only for this week's race, but for the remainder of the season. And that momentum couldn't happen at a better time -- starting with Sunday's event, Gordon has accumulated a total of 25 career wins (nearly half of his 58 career victories) at the next 10 tracks that the tour will visit.

"I think Texas was a turning point for us," Gordon said. "We didn't qualify well, but we kept working hard all day and it paid off with a second-place finish. That's the kind of turnaround that the No. 24 team is known for and I think we can build from it."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com.