DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jeff Gordon has already been to Victory Lane this season. Has a trophy and some pictures of him celebrating to prove it.

So imagine the hard time he had explaining to his Belgian-born wife why his victory in a Daytona 500 qualifying race didn't snap his 41-race winless streak.

"I went home and was talking to Ingrid and she was like, 'Oh, it's so great you won,' " he said of his victory Thursday in the non-points event. "I was like, 'Yeah, baby, that was fantastic. But don't think that that counted.' She's like, 'That didn't count?' And I was like, 'No.'"

That's not entirely accurate.

Gordon's win gave him a second-row starting spot for Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500, the biggest event of the year. And it gave his Hendrick Motorsports team confidence it can rebound from one of the worst seasons of Gordon's storied career.

The four-time Cup champion suffered through his first winless season since his 1993 rookie campaign, and a Daytona 500 victory would ease the embarrassment of last year. Gordon has won NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl three times, but not since 2005.

But with a strong car and momentum from his Thursday victory, Gordon could be poised to end the longest losing streak of his career.

"It counted for us, the motivation and the confidence-builder, and while it was fantastic to be in Victory Lane, we realize that we've got to do it on Sunday," he said. "I think we've got what it takes to do it on Sunday."

That there's even any doubt whether Gordon can still get the job done is almost unfathomable.

He revolutionized the sport right from the start, collecting victories at an overwhelming clip while running over the competition. His 81 career wins rank fourth on NASCAR's career list, and at one point, he seemed destined to catch Richard Petty's record 200 wins.

Gordon was still at the top of his game in 2007, when he set a NASCAR record with 30 top-10 finishes in 36 races during a down-to-the-wire championship chase with teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson ultimately won, and Gordon hasn't been the same since. He failed to win a race last year, and even though he made the Chase for the championship, he was never a credible title contender.

The failures put the team under intense scrutiny, even though Gordon remained fiercely committed to his crew.

"I guess everyone was a little embarrassed, but Jeff is a guy who never complains, never points fingers," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "Maybe it might have helped if he'd raised a little more hell. But we were just not good enough for that team and I think Jeff is so used to carrying it on his shoulders.

"I think we all just gave up at one point there, but it motivated us to come back. That was the first year where I feel like we just let him down. We just killed him right out of the gate and we couldn't recover."

But as he starts his 17th season, Gordon wants it made clear that he's sharing responsibility for the team's failures. Midway through the 2007 season, when he was in the thick of the title hunt, he said his back began bothering him and he failed to properly address it.

His wife urged him to see a personal trainer and make physical fitness a priority, but the genetically thin Gordon was too stubborn to listen. His back issues continued — tightness and spasms he said sometimes affected his concentration while in the race car — and it complicated his already-slow adjustment to NASCAR's full-time use of its new car.

"I'm not making excuses," Gordon said. "People seem to think I can't drive a loose car, and I admit it took time for me to get comfortable with this car, but it had nothing to do with it being too loose. Between my back, and the adjusting to the new car, we just didn't have the season we're accustomed to."

So Gordon is now in the gym, and has someone at the track helping him with his back to make sure he's properly stretched before each race.

And he's also getting quite comfortable in his car, which is bad news for the competition.

For as frustrating as last season was for Gordon, he said 2000 was actually his worst year. He won three races that year and finished ninth in the final standings, but said he struggled with a new spring package in the car and it prevented him from challenging for the championship.

But one year later, he was back on top, winning nine races while capturing the last of his four titles.

"We tend to bounce back rather well," he smiled.

Gordon was still smiling after Saturday's final practice session before the 500, when he posted the ninth-fastest speed during a quick run. His car was so good, Gordon spent most of his time on the track out front, giving him a strong feeling for Sunday's race.

"I haven't been this excited about a Daytona 500 in a long time," he said. "It's anybody's race. But I just feel like this team, and all of Hendrick Motorsports come very well prepared. I know we've got all the pieces in place there, now we've just got to go out and execute.

"We showed what we can do on Thursday. Now we've got to do it for 500 miles."