John Raoux / AP

Jeff Gordon holds his daughter Ella Sofia Gordon on pit road before the start of the first of two NASCAR Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying races.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Victory Lane quite a few times, but not many times as a father,” Gordon said. “There’s nothing more special than that.”

The non-points Gatorade Duel doesn’t officially count for anything in Gordon’s victory total, but gave him a second-row starting spot in Sunday’s race.

It also gave him much-needed momentum after his disappointing 2008 season.

“Who says we can’t win?” Gordon asked. “This team has been unbelievable. We all know what we went through last year by not winning. There’s a lot of expectations on this team, but they never wavered. The guys just kept working hard, building great race cars.

“I’m really excited about the Daytona 500 after that race. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Victory Lane. I’ve got to take advantage of this.”

Busch also made an overdue return to Victory Lane, where he was a frequent visitor last season before tailing off when the championship was on the line. Busch won eight races last year and led the Cup standings most of the season, but started to falter in August and fell apart when the Chase for the championship began.

A victory in the duel — he held off a late charge from sentimental favorite Mark Martin and used help from teammate Denny Hamlin — has helped him regain momentum.

“It was a disappointing season toward the end,” Busch said, “so that was a great way to start it off.”  

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