To borrow from an old saying, in most cases two's a couple and three's a crowd.

But in Jeff Gordon's case, two's a couple and three's a NASCAR record.

That's the scenario facing the four-time Winston Cup champion in this weekend's Banquet 400, where Gordon goes for his third consecutive win at Kansas Speedway. No other driver in NASCAR history has ever won the first three races held at a new racetrack.

Two of Gordon's current chief rivals -- Tony Stewart (Homestead-Miami) and Kevin Harvick (Chicagoland) -- fell short in their bids to win the first three races at those particular tracks, watching their winning streaks snap after just two victories.

	Jeff Gordon has struck a winning pose two other times at the Kansas Speedway.

With Matt Kenseth all but having the Winston Cup championship locked up and Gordon mired a distant sixth in the standings, there's really not a whole lot left for Gordon to race for in the remaining seven races of the 2003 season. That's why he has to find incentive where he can -- and doing something that no other driver has ever done previously in Cup lore is a strong motivating factor in and of itself.

"Winning the first two races (at Kansas) was not easy though," Gordon admits. "Our team would love to get our second win of the season and our third win there. First, we have to focus on the challenges for this weekend's race.

"(Kansas) is a great track, but it's difficult to pass there. With such a competitive field, you never know who your biggest challenge will be."

Gordon's biggest challenge in last season's race came not only from eventual runner-up Ryan Newman and third-place Rusty Wallace, but also from his own teammates, who locked up three of the other top-12 spots: Joe Nemechek finished fourth, Jimmie Johnson 10th and Terry Labonte 12th.

The layout of the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway racetrack is quite similar to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., where Harvick won his first two starts before Newman broke his victory string there this past July.

Kansas' fairly flat racing surface plays to Gordon's strengths. But because the racetrack has only seen two previous Cup races, the racing groove -- or two grooves, as most seasoned tracks have -- is still a work in progress.

With two races and two winters already in the books, this year's race will hopefully have a bit more variety and passing rather than follow-the-leader racing that has been predominant in the first two events there.

"Since this is a fairly new track, there is only one groove and right now it's around the bottom," Gordon said. "As more races are held there, that groove will eventually widen. It's like a fine wine. It just gets better with age.

"Until then, there's not going to be a whole lot of passing, unless you're a whole lot faster than the driver in front of you or if they make a mistake or get loose."

Gordon comes to Kansas with some strong performances of late. After a four-race slump that saw him finish no better than 28th place, he's rebounded with three strong showings in his last four starts: a pair of fifth-place finishes in his last two races (Delaware and Talladega), as well as a 10th-place showing at Richmond.

The key for Gordon and the multi-colored No. 24 Chevrolet will be a strong qualifying effort, much like he earned in the first two races, starting from the outside pole in the inaugural race in 2001 and from 10th position in last year's race.

	“	We've done well here in the past, but we can't focus on the past for this race. The No. 24 team has to approach this race with a renewed focus. ”
		— Jeff Gordon

Strong starts have also helped Gordon get out front fairly quickly -- and for extended stretches of time en route to grabbing the checkered flag both times. Of the 534 total laps that have been run at the Kansas facility, Gordon has been the front-runner for nearly one-third of those laps (169), including dominating last year's event by leading 116 of the event's 267 laps.

"We know coming to Kansas that track position is crucial," crew chief Robbie Loomis admits. "The focus will be on the pit crew, good pit stops and pit strategy. You can win or lose this race in the pits."

Which means, bottom line, that as much as Winston Cup drivers and crew chiefs have come to abhor such style of racing this season, Sunday's race could potentially boil down to yet another somewhat boring event that is won in the pits in the battle of pit stop strategy and fuel calculations rather than outright pedal to the metal racing.

"This will probably be a race that's won on pit road," Gordon readily acknowledges. "We're going to rely a lot on our pit crews."

And while Gordon certainly has history on his side, that's only good for memories. This is a new year, a new race and potentially a new outcome, although Gordon will be doing his best to reach back for more of the same magic he performed at Kansas the previous two years.

"We've done well here in the past, but we can't focus on the past for this race," Gordon said. "The No. 24 team has to approach this race with a renewed focus.

"Fortunately, our team has had some strong finishes over the past few weekends, and I hope we can carry that momentum to a track where we really enjoy racing."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@MSN.com.