Sunday's Brickyard 400 may finally be the day Jeff puts the "Go" back in Gordon -- as in Gordon will go to Victory Lane immediately after the race to celebrate his fourth career Brickyard title.

Not having won in more than 10 months (a span of 28 starts) -- his most recent trip to the winner's circle was last September in the inaugural race at Kansas -- Gordon is more primed than a firecracker to explode out of his winless slump.

	Jeff Gordon has gone 10 months -- and 28 starts -- since his most recent win last September in Kansas.

And Indianapolis Motor Speedway may be just the match Gordon needs to spark not only a win Sunday -- which happens to be his 31st birthday -- but to also light a fire under him and the rest of his crew towards capturing a fifth Winston Cup title.

Perhaps more so than in any other race this season, Gordon will be under the brightest spotlight of scrutiny this weekend, mostly of his own doing. He has practically owned IMS in the race's brief eight-year history, with wins in the inaugural event in 1994, 1998 and in last year's event, as well as two other top-5 finishes.

The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet has also sat on the pole three times, although none of his victories have come in the year he paced the start of the race. Furthermore, of the Brickyard's 1,280 total laps to date, Gordon has led 306 of those, or 24 percent.

Therefore, Gordon finds himself on the verge of yet another milestone, with the possibility on Sunday of becoming only the fourth driver to win four times on Indy's fabled 2½-mile layout. The other three four-time winners -- A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser -- all triumphed in the crown jewel of open-wheel racing, the Indianapolis 500.

Gordon would be the first stock-car jockey to perform a similar feat, but with a significant twist: Foyt earned his four Indianapolis 500 wins in 35 starts, Unser in 27 and Mears in 15. Gordon could match the feat of four wins at Indy in just his ninth Brickyard 400 start.

"Quite honestly, that really amazes me," Gordon said. "I grew up in nearby Pittsboro (Ind.) and idolized Rick Mears as a kid. I'll never forget the day I met him and got an autograph. To be mentioned in the same sentence with Unser, Mears and Foyt is unbelievable to me."

Equally as unbelievable is Gordon, who has amassed 58 career victories in just over 9½ seasons. But, he has now gone 28 races without a win, his longest streak between victories since he joined the circuit in 1992.

Perhaps the most unbelievable fact of all is Gordon still remains in the thick of the championship chase. He comes into Sunday's race in fourth in the standings, just 188 points behind Sterling Marlin, who has held an unwavering grip on the top spot since the second week of the season.

"Just because we're not winning doesn't mean we won't be a threat for the championship, but we would certainly like to do it in winning fashion," Gordon said.

It has been sheer consistency (six top-5 and five other top-10 finishes in the first 20 races) which has allowed Gordon to stay on the heels of those drivers ahead of him in the points -- Marlin, Mark Martin and rookie teammate Jimmie Johnson. Meanwhile, other early-season frontrunners like Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace have all fallen behind him.

Even his well-publicized divorce from wife Brooke has not dampened Gordon's do-everything-but-win consistency in 2002.

"He's still probably the biggest threat to win the points championship, whether people want to believe that or not," said team owner Ray Evernham, who directed Gordon to three titles and two Brickyard 400 wins as Gordon's former crew chief. "There's way too many races left to count Jeff Gordon out of this championship."

Despite not winning since September, Gordon can find significant consolation about Sunday's race: the winner of the Brickyard has gone on to win the championship each of the last four years, with Gordon winning two of those titles.

"That may be just a coincidence, but I think this summer stretch is crucial to a team's championship hopes," Gordon said. "It's not just Indianapolis, you have to perform well at Michigan, Pocono and Darlington -- that's what makes or breaks your season."

Now the downside that bodes well for Marlin but not Gordon: In all but one year, the driver who was atop the standings after leaving Indianapolis has gone on to win the championship. If Gordon is to change that distinction, he has to get moving fast Sunday and continue building momentum in the other 15 races remaining on the schedule.

Growing up in Indiana, Gordon developed a fondness for IMS that continues today.

"When I look back, I think winning the inaugural Brickyard 400 is my most cherished victory," Gordon said. "I never thought that I would have the chance to race here and it was only my second victory in Winston Cup. All those things added up really made that victory special to me."

	“	He's still probably the biggest threat to win the points championship, whether people want to believe that or not. There's way too many races left to count Jeff Gordon out of this championship. ”
		— Ray Evernham

His most recent win at Indianapolis was yet another chapter in how to beat the world's most famous track. Gordon had a poor qualifying effort for last year's race, ultimately starting 27th in the 43-car field, the worst starting position ever for a Brickyard winner.

Yet, Gordon and crew chief Robbie Loomis used a combination of aggressive driving and calculated pit stop strategy to power their way into Victory Lane. The biggest key: Gordon was running fifth late in the race when a caution flag prompted every driver except Marlin, who was leading the race at that point, to pit.

Loomis ultimately looked like a genius when he called for only a two-tire stop. Gordon exited and found himself right behind Marlin on the restart on lap 136. He quickly passed the No. 40 car heading into Turn 1 and then held on for the remaining 24 laps to take the checkered flag.

"You know, when things go your way, they go your way," Gordon said. "I had to win because my crew chief was going to wring my neck if I didn't because I was chewing him out so bad at the beginning of the race. We were so far off at the beginning, but I think most of it was just traffic. I think the car was pretty good, then we made some major adjustments."

Gordon will have to make even more adjustments this weekend during qualifying and in the race itself.

"I think the speeds are going to be really fast," he said. "I'm hoping that we do have a little more tire wear than we had at most places, because that way it won't come down to a fuel-mileage deal. It will come down to putting new tires on. It's going to make it interesting."

This weekend will also mark the debut of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier in NASCAR competition. The system worked flawlessly at the Indianapolis 500 in May, and offers hope that the kind of high-speed impacts which killed Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Tony Roper and Dale Earnhardt in the last 27 months will not be tragically repeated in the future.

"We're excited to have it there," Gordon said. "None of us want to use it and find out how well it works. It's nice to know that they're taking extra measures to make the racetrack safer for all of us. I think it's a good thing."

But the best thing of all for Gordon and the rest of his team would be to end all the scrutiny about his winless streak with a victory Sunday. It's just a matter of time. He knows, the media and fans know it, now it's just a case of going out and doing it -- like he's done three times already at Indianapolis.

"Sometimes it's liking the track, sometimes it's putting a good setup under the car, and sometimes it's just getting some good, lucky breaks," Gordon said. "We've had all those things fall in our favor when we've been in Indianapolis, and we hope we can do that again this year."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com.