"It's just pretty disappointing," said Jeff Gordon of his winless 2008 season.

Since Gordon began his NASCAR career in 1993 he has not gone through a season without a win, and if he only has one more shot of preventing that from happening.

Rare engine troubles sidelined Gordon on the 266th lap of the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

"One thing we haven't had happen to us all year, that we rarely have happen, is engine trouble. We're not exactly sure what it was," noted Gordon. "I felt it lose a cylinder and we just tried to ride it out as long as we could."

Even though theres only one place to point the finger, Gordon will not put his engine builders at fault for Sunday's troubles.

"Nobody is better than our engine shop," said Gordon. "So we will figure it out and make sure it doesn't happen again. My hat's off to our engine guys."