WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) – A victory by Jeff Gordon on Sunday would be a strong argument that there’s nothing more important than practice.

After failing last year to get his fifth victory at Watkins Glen International, NASCAR’s king of the road decided to use one of five allowable testing sessions this season to regain the dominance he had here in the late 1990s. It paid off Friday, when he won the pole for the Sirius at The Glen.

“It really took me about a day and a half to get comfortable going into turn one,” he said of his test last month.

Negotiating the first of 11 turns on the 2.45-mile road course is critical. It comes at the end of a long, downhill straightaway, where a driver can easily ruin his day by sliding off the course and into a gravel trap.

The alternative is to be able to go hard and still make a smooth corner. Gordon, the NASCAR record holder with seven road-course victories, believes he’s ready to do that – thanks to hard work.

“If we hadn’t tested and we just came here, I probably wouldn’t be able to drive into turn one the way I can,” said the four-time Winston Cup champion.

Gordon has won 55 times on ovals, where speed is the key to victory. But his success on the curvy road courses here and in Sonoma, Calif., is attributable to his understanding that slowing down quickly makes for a faster lap.

“You attack it under braking,” he said. “It’s really just how hard you drive into the corners.”

Rookie Greg Biffle also tested here, and what he learned enabled him to qualify second. Like Gordon, he has had success at Watkins Glen, winning in the NASCAR truck series and finishing second in Busch competition.

Crew chief Randy Goss says Biffle has always been good on road courses, even though his experience is limited. They thought they would do well two months ago in Sonoma after an uncharged test at Road Atlanta, where NASCAR does not race.

But Biffle, who got his first Winston Cup victory last month at Daytona, finished 37th in Sonoma.

“That could have got me some bad habits because they are not a lot alike,” Biffle said of Road Atlanta and Infineon Raceway. “We decided to come here and test instead, and I think it’s going to work out for us.”

Biffle and Gordon sharing the front row presents an interesting scenario because the rookie was chastised by NASCAR for rough driving last month in New Hampshire. Biffle was angry because race leader Gordon would not let him get back on the lead lap when a caution flag waved.

He swerved to the right and hit Gordon’s car.

But Gordon isn’t worried about an encore.

“We talked about it the following weekend, and it’s long gone,” he said. “Stuff like that happens sometimes, and in the heat of the moment it gets the best of you. I respect Greg a lot.”

Both should respect the speed of Tony Stewart, who starts fourth in defense of his race title. Unlike Biffle and Gordon, the series champion didn’t test here.

But Stewart also is an accomplished ace of the road courses. He has been out of the top 10 only once in four races here and won last year in Sonoma, where he finished 12th in

June.

He had the fastest car in the first practice Saturday. Biffle was the fastest in the final session and overall.

“I think we’ve got a good shot at repeating what we did here last year,” Stewart said, but he knows he needs to get to the front. “Track position is real important here.”

Stewart starts outside three-time Watkins Glen winner Mark Martin, also among the fastest Saturday.

Rusty Wallace, a two-time winner here, shares the third row with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt spun into the gravel in the final session, but did not damage his car.

Points leader Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte and Boris Said complete the top 10.

AP-ES-08-09-03 1513EDT