by Rea White, NASCAR Scene, Special to FOXSports.com

Gordon is riding a 39-race winless streak and if he does not win in the next two weekends, the four-time series champion will endure his first winless NASCAR Cup season since his 1993 rookie year. One wouldn't know it, though, from either his demeanor or his attention to fans and media. Gordon remains as amenable to questions as he was during the years when he was regularly winning championships, still fulfilling all tenets of a role model in the sport.

Rea White (NASCAR Scene)

That flows through all aspects of his team, from his commitment to testing more this season, to his continual defense of crew chief Steve Letarte, to his willingness to accept his share of responsibility for this winless season.

And obviously his year is one many drivers envy. Gordon is fifth in the standings of the Chase for the Sprint Cup with 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes on the season. Still, he's not giving up on winning in the next two races — nor is he laying blame on others for a season that opened with struggles in NASCAR's new car but that has shown marked improvement in recent weeks.

"I definitely take responsibility," he says. "But it's no different from when we win. I contribute to that win; I don't control all of it. And it's no different from any other individual on the team. We all play a role in the team to come together to win and to lose. So while I take responsibility and want to give everything I can, I think that it's a group effort, for sure. Every driver has a unique driving style; every crew chief has a different style of how they want to set up the cars. But it's all about the results, and it's how you get there."

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It wasn't that long ago that Gordon and Letarte were showcasing just how adept they were at getting those results. Last season he finished second to teammate Jimmie Johnson in the standings, posting an average finish of 5.2 in the 10-race Chase segment of the season.

So while things haven't gone as well this season, Gordon can assess the car and performance and see areas where the team has improved — and gains they've made in understanding what it takes to make this car go fast.

"Last year we proved we know how to get those results," Gordon says. "And this year, we realized that we were going the wrong direction with the new car on the 1.5-miles and even a little bit on some of the other tracks. It's just constantly evolving and learning what it takes with this car. We had to start rethinking how we went about it. About halfway through this season, we felt like we were starting to head down the right path. Obviously the No. 48 team (of Johnson) got ahead of it much quicker than we did, for whatever reason. You can give a lot of credit to Jimmie, to (crew chief) Chad (Knaus), and to all those guys. But I don't think you can just put it on one person; it's the same thing for us. I take responsibility, but I don't think all of it lies on me. It's the same with Steve Letarte. He's gotten a lot heat. It's not all on him either. We all play a role."

That doesn't mean that Gordon's not disappointed with his lack of a victory or not diligently working to turn the tide. He is, in fact. But he's also managing to keep that streak from dominating his thoughts and his season.

A true champion may be one who is able to guide his team through the tough times, who can help the group overcome the setbacks and move forward. This season has been a testament to Gordon's ability to do just that. He's shown improvement on the 1.5-mile tracks (the ones NASCAR's new car debuted on this season) week to week and has generally performed better on return visits to those tracks.

As his competitors and teammates watch him, they are both impressed with how he has handled the situation — and certain that it won't be much longer before he does win.

"One thing about Jeff is that he has always done a very good job about letting things roll off his back," Johnson says. "If it's been positive things with championships or negative things with winless streaks or whatever it may be, the guy has a very good ability to let things roll off his back and focus on next week and the job that he's got to do. Stevie and Jeff don't like this position they're in, and they're working hard to not be in it. I think they're close to winning a race. They've had a good season. They've been able to make the Chase and be competitive in the Chase. "

Most look at this as a mere bump in his career, one that will come to an end quickly. Gordon has a win at Phoenix International Raceway, site of this weekend's race, and finished 13th there earlier this season. His career has been marked by the ability to move past setbacks, to grow and adapt to changes in the sport. This adjustment should be no different. It's just viewed as another step in the career of one of the sport's greats.

"I think you have to put Jeff Gordon right up there at the top of the list with any driver that's ever lived," Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards says. "He's done it all. He's won at I don't know how many tracks. I don't know if there's a track he hasn't won at on the schedule. In the old points system, he's won four championships, and it would be six, if they would have kept it.

"He's a great driver and a great competitor."

As to Gordon, he's doing all he can to continue to gain ground. He has four consecutive top-10 finishes and six in the past seven Cup races. He finished second at Texas last weekend, his second runner-up finish of the season. And he's in position to gain another spot or two in the standings before the season ends.

So when he looks back at his 2008 season, he sees a lot of bright spots. Still, he admits it would be nice to grab a win before it ends.

"It certainly is not as big of a failure as sometimes we make out of it because we haven't won so far," he said prior to racing at Texas. "Any time you make it into the Chase, anytime you're [fifth] in the points at this point in the season, it's not a bad season. But obviously we want to win, and we aim to win every weekend and it's been frustrating that we haven't achieved that. And it's been an up-and-down season for us. It hasn't just been a stellar great season like we had last year.

"So what I'm proud of is the fight that this team has shown over the last 10 races. We've made a lot of improvements to the car, and the points have shown it."

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Rea White is a writer for NASCAR Scene, which is published weekly, 50 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information.