TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Jeff Gordon is ready to run it back.

That's right. A rematch. Another chassis-scratching duel with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Only this time, he wants to be racing for first. Which, if he's racing with Junior at the end of Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, will likely be a challenge for victory.

"Junior and I had fun racing those last few laps at Texas, but I wish it had been for a win." Gordon said of last weekend's final-lap race for second. "He and all the Dale Earnhardt Inc. cars run well at the restrictor-plate tracks, so Junior should be in contention at the end of this weekend's race.

"We haven't conceded the win to that group, though. We ran well at Daytona earlier this year ... (and) my teammate Jimmie (Johnson) had a chance at the win and finished in the top five. I think we have as good a shot as anyone."

Historically, for Gordon, that had always been the case. No matter what track, city or weather, the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet always seemed to be in contention.

But sometime around the 2000 season, even as he maintained a high level of competition and has continued to finish in the top-10 of the standings, some of the luster on that Wonder Boy aura began to rub off.

No longer did he seem immune to the bad luck which always struck everyone else when he was winning three titles in four years from 1995 to '98. Sure, Gordon finished in the top-10 in 1999 and 2000, won the points race in 2001 and finished in the top-five last season -- but gone was that sense of Gordon being the man to beat at every race.

Last weekend at Texas, any one of Roush Racing's drivers were the popular choices. Two weekends ago at Bristol, it was Kurt Busch, who ended up winning. Two weekends before that it was Bobby Labonte at Atlanta -- and he, too, made good on being a favorite.

It's not that parity is a bad thing. It's just a far cry from what Gordon had going when he put up two 10-win seasons and tied a modern-era record for most wins in a season at 13.

But with last weekend's run, making it three top-10s in four races, Gordon is trying to reassert himself as a consistent force and hoping to make a legitimate run at his fifth title.

And if he managed to do it, it will be a credit to his ability to change with the times. Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports team obviously had some things figured out that the rest of the competition didn't in the mid- to late-'90s. But as the cars and aerodynamics changed, whatever advantage Gordon had disappeared.

Thanks to a young teammate with a young crew chief in Johnson and Chad Knaus, Gordon has had access to notes formulated by fresh approaches and has used them to remain competitive.

"You can credit Jeff and everything the No. 24 team has been able to accomplish over the years for staying successful when the times keep changing," Johnson said. "That's what a championship team is made of. It doesn't take Jeff long to figure out something new."

Add to that that he doesn't tend to forget all the lessons he's learned over the past 10 years and it isn't inconceivable that Gordon could emerge again as a perennial contender.

One race at a time, of course. And, at this time, it's Talladega. A place Gordon knows he won't be mentioned as the man to beat. That man will be Earnhardt Jr.

Junior has won three straight races at Talladega, and could set the record at four straight with another checkered Sunday. Gordon hopes to be in position to foil those plans.

He was having trouble with his qualifying setup early Friday, but he wasn't too concerned.

"I'd like to start near the front, but qualifying well isn't that important at the restrictor-plate tracks," Gordon said. "We've won here starting up front and we've won here starting toward the back. With the way things shake up so quickly, you're probably going to spend time at some point racing from the back to the front."

And in doing so, he'll rely a little on his teammates, especially Johnson, who is quickly catching on to the art of drafting. That duo could be one to reckon with at the end of the race.

And if that's the case, Gordon isn't shy about asserting his desire to win. He'll work with anybody that can help him get to the front, but once he's there it's every driver for himself.

"Ideally, I'd like all four Hendrick Motorsports cars to be in contention at the end." Gordon said. "All of the drivers and spotters will be making deals during the race on Sunday. The problem is anticipating when a deal might be broken. I'll try and work with my teammates at Hendrick Motorsports and see if we can draft to the front. (But) even with teammates, deals may be broken if a win is on the line."

Rupen Fofaria covers NASCAR for The Raleigh News & Observer and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at rfofaria@newsobserver.com.