It was strange, almost startling to Ricky Craven.

Jeff Gordon sat on stage with four other drivers, all of whom were eligible to win a million-dollar bonus if they won the next day's race at Daytona International Speedway.

	Four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon currently owns a 28-race winless streak.

That was not the oddity. Gordon has been eligible for this bonus more times than any other Winston Cup driver. The odd thing was that, of the five of them on stage -- Gordon, Craven, Ricky Rudd, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin -- it was Gordon who had been waiting longest since his last victory.

"That's one I have on him," Craven said. "There aren't many of those."

Here NASCAR was back at Daytona -- 16 races down in 2002 and 20 races to go -- and the "wonder boy" still had not -- and still has not -- won a race. Gordon, in fact, has not won since the Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway last September.

Rudd, seated beside the 30-year-old four-time champion, was trying to explain how some drivers are better than others at certain tracks, and added that the rules package at Daytona favored no driver more than another -- unlike many other tracks, he added, "where Jeff Gordon dominates."

Not missing a beat, the winless wonder chimed in: "Wait a second. When are we getting to those tracks? I can't wait for that."

The wait is over. Just look at Gordon's record at the next five tracks which host races in the Winston Cup Series:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Aug. 4, where he has three career wins; Watkins Glen International, Aug. 11, where he has four career victories, Michigan International Speedway, Aug. 18, where he has two career wins; Bristol Motor Speedway, Aug. 24, where he has four career victories; and Darlington Raceway, Sept. 1, where he has five career wins.

"This was a defining stretch for this team," Gordon said of this time last year, when he clinched his fourth title. "I guess you could say we were 'in the zone' during those races. Not only did we think we should consistently finish in the top-five each weekend, but we felt like we had cars that could win every race."

Even though he played dumb with Rudd, Gordon knows this is his time of year. That's why he's got the same confidence for the rest of the season that he had last year, despite his current 28-race winless streak.

In 2000, when Gordon last experienced what many called a slump (although he won three races and finished ninth in the standings) he was combating the loss of his crew chief -- Ray Evernham -- and almost his entire crew -- the original Rainbow Warriors.

With Robbie Loomis in place as crew chief and another pit crew routinely turning 15-second stops, Gordon isn't afraid to call his No. 24 team an experienced squad. Which is what gives him the confidence he has for this time of year.

"This stretch really shows how well teams are prepared," he said. "It can create long hours for the guys at the shop if they're playing catch-up during this time. We didn't tear much up the first half of the season and that certainly helps. And we learned a lot from the 48 team that we'll apply during our second visit to the tracks."

That No. 48 team, which Gordon co-owns, has been a factor in the No. 24 team's performance. It was a fourth team added to Hendrick Motorsports' stable, dividing some of the team's resources. Also, it was the team which received Gordon's cars from his championship run last year.

Although this may have created an adjustment period at the start of 2002, the No. 48 team is also a new team with which Gordon and Co. can share information. And this has been valuable information 30-year-old crew chief Chad Knaus and 26-year-old driver Jimmie Johnson have been providing. These young guys, with an open-minded and often aggressive approach to qualifying and race set-ups, have certainly worked for the 48 bunch. Johnson and crew have won two races and three polesin this, his rookie season.

"At first, yeah, it was like I was supposed to be the teacher," Gordon said. "But we've learned more from them than they have from us."

Johnson maintains that the relationship is still the other way around, even though he is third in the standings (92 points out) and Gordon is fifth (140 points back).

"That's what he likes to say," Johnson said. "But there's not much I'm going to teach a guy whose won four championships. The two teams just work together real well and it, I think it shows on the track."

So far, it has for Johnson, Knaus and crew in the form of victories at Fontana, Calif., and Dover, Del. Gordon, however, is waiting for his first win. But while he does, his confidence is unwavering.

"I think we'll get it," Gordon said. "And when we do, watch out. When these guys get a little confidence, that's when you typically see us win two or three in a short amount of time."

Rupen Fofaria is a beat writer for the Raleigh News & Observer.