You know you're having a bad day at the track when your crew chief simply tells you, "I'm lost." That was the situation Jeff Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte found themselves in after dropping like a rock in the early stages of Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.

The No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet started the day from the fifth-spot, but quickly lost the grip in the tires and struggled to remain in the top-20. Gordon was frustrated with the car and complaining over the radio.

"It was definitely challenging for us. That first run," Gordon explained, "it was the first time I had been here and just trying to make laps and not go off the racetrack. I was having that much trouble in the braking zones.

"I was locking up tires coming off the corners and I was swinging the back end out and that's why I lost so many spots; I was just trying to keep it on the racetrack."

Making major adjustments, Letarte was able to give Gordon what he needed to make the DuPont Chevrolet better, luck did the rest. One of the cars that benefited from the second caution flag, Gordon regained the track position he had lost early in the going.

With ten laps to go, Gordon was running seventh as Kyle Busch drove off into the California sunset. An incident heading into Turn 7 collecting four of the six cars ahead of Gordon was a huge break. Avoiding the incident, Gordon restarted third behind David Gilliland and race leader Kyle Busch.

The five-time winner at Infineon admitted the final Green-White-Checkered restart was, "no doubt about it were the toughest laps I've ever made, possibly anywhere." With Speedy Dry all over the track, drivers slid around jockeying for positions before the checkered flag flew.

"This track has its challenges already," Gordon explained, "the elevations, the curves, left, right, and when you take this big, heavy car like that and try to change directions on the track that just really has no grip from all the debris and Speedy Dry and fluids or whatever down there" I knew at that point, it was whether those guys made a mistake or I made a mistake and I just wanted to be as clean as I could on those last laps."

Luckily for Gordon it all worked out and the four-time series champion was able to come home third, moving up three spots to sixth in the standings. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was happy to salvage what had shaped up to be a devastating day, but was still disappointed.

"I keep trying to separate the frustration and the up and down," Gordon said following the race, "because as a team, we're performing unbelievable.

"And then there's the effort that the team puts in when the race begins, of fighting through every hurdle that comes your way, and in dealing with adjustments and pit strategy and in working together as a team to get the best finish, and in that sense, I think we are one of the best out there."

This team has definitely surprised many in the NASCAR community thus far - and not in a good way. One of the most dominant cars in 2007, the No. 24 team has yet to show that type of confidence or performance that was there week-in and week-out last season.

"It is very frustrating that the cars were so good last year, and this year, you know, we're just not where we need to be," Gordon went on to say. "Yeah, it's frustrating. I know that Hendrick Motorsports has the resources and I still feel like I have what it takes, and I know my team does.

"You know, it's been frustrating at times because when you don't have the cars running the way you want them to, you know, everybody starts to lose their confidence. The team does, you do, and it only takes a few little things to click, and all of a sudden, you're right back there and that's what we constantly have to remind ourselves, and that's why we're working hard and that's why we're testing."

Sunday was evidence this team does not give up. While many seemed to write the DuPont Chevrolet out of contention in the first half of the race, the team worked together to fight their way back to the top. This team will break through and win again this year - and when they do, look out.