Gordon Knows Earnhardt Lurking

Even during this season of frustration, the most important fact in stock car racing remains the whereabouts of Dale Earnhardt.

Whether they’re looking for the Intimidator in their rear view mirrors or scanning the garage for his menacing No. 3 Chevrolet, the other drivers on the circuit still keep a watchful eye on the sport’s biggest star.

Love him or hate him, Earnhardt is still the defending Winston Cup champion, a title he has held seven times. In this, his 17th full season on NASCAR’s most popular circuit, Earnhardt has been alternately frustrated and disgusted as he chases an unprecedented eighth championship.

Leading the quest for the title this season is the young Jeff Gordon, who is either revered or reviled by fans much the way Earnhardt was when he raced onto the NASCAR scene as an irreverent rookie in 1979. Despite Gordon’s early success, no one on his team thinks Earnhardt has been displaced yet.

“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” said Gordon’s crew chief, Ray Evernham. “He’s a seven-time champion. Jeff’s a no-time champion. I think his days as a challenger are over.”

Still, while Earnhardt has been searching for more speed and better luck this season, Gordon has ascended to center stage in the sport with striking haste. He has won six races this season to Earnhardt’s three, attracting as much commotion as any driver since Earnhardt himself.

“Right now it’s just amazing me,” Gordon said before last weekend’s DieHard 500 at Talladega Super-speedway. “I mean, I never dreamed in a million years that I’d be racing Winston Cup, and I certainly never thought I’d be winning at this level.

“We’ve won five races this year, and I can tell you I get more and more excited on each one.”

That statement says everything about how fast Gordon has risen; he can’t even remember how many races he’s won.

Earnhardt’s memories of this season, especially lately, have not been as pleasant. At Talladega, where Earnhardt’s seven career victories are more than any other driver, the Intimidator’s last-lap charge was foiled by Dale Jarrett, and Sterling Marlin drove to victory. When Earnhardt crossed the finish line fourth, it was only the second time he’d finished better than 20th in five races.

Like the last time at Talladega, when Earnhardt wrecked on the last lap and launched into a helmetthrowing, profanity-laced tirade in the garage, it was a possible victory that slipped away. Similar frustration reigned at Michigan, when Earnhardt limped away from a crash and needed a week on the beach to recover from his injuries.

After the DieHard 500, Earnhardt recited what has become a loathsome post-race speech for him, impatiently sing-songing that he had come up short again.

“We tried, did all we could,” Earnhardt lamented, his blunt public speaking style becoming even more so as this frustrating season wears on. “We just didn’t have enough there at the end. That’s all we had.”

Even though Gordon finished eighth, Earnhardt still found himself in the unenviable position of chasing the 23-year-old for the title that would put the king of stock car racing, Richard Petty, in his shadow. Gordon still leads with 2,205 points, 146 ahead of Earnhardt, who is third with 15 races to go.

“Well, I don’t know if he’s chasing me,” said Gordon, reluctant to upstage the reigning champion. “Especially at Daytona and Talladega, you can learn an awful lot from him… . The guy is incredible. I mean, he can drive looking in his mirror more than looking straight ahead. That’s pretty tough to do.”

Whether or not Earnhardt passes Petty this season, Gordon’s rise signifies something else - the multitude of young talent in the sport today. Nine drivers have won races this season, far different from the days when Petty drove to his record 200 stock car victories.

The growth of the sport has filled the paddock with talented young drivers, making Petty’s 200 wins look like the loftiest milestone in sports. Earnhardt, 44, has won 66 races.

At Talladega, though, Earnhardt was foremost on everyone’s mind. During qualifying, drivers and crew chiefs were looking all around and asking, “Where’s Earnhardt? What happened to Earnhardt?” when the Intimidator missed his run. It turned out his Chevrolet’s motor was bad and needed wholesale changes at the last moment.

In what almost became another dose of bad luck, Earnhardt barely made his qualifying pass before torrential rain swept across the speedway. Bad motor and all, Earnhardt qualified fifth. Had he gotten rained out, he would have had to run the following morning, with a cool engine that had been sitting overnight.

While his crew worked on the car, Earnhardt stood near the entrance to pit road, arms folded across his chest, glaring at the track. After making his two laps, he said a few words and then jogged past the garage and out of sight.

Gordon, with his youthful looks and talkative tendencies, is a stark contrast to Earnhardt’s rough public demeanor. The young driver showed his soft side at Talladega, when he was obviously shaken after sliding into the Chevy of teammate Ken Schrader, sending the car tumbling alongside the backstretch. There were no serious injuries, but Schrader and others were knocked out of the race.

Earnhardt prefers not to talk much about his many troubles this season. Gordon, who watches as Earnhardt lurks in his rear-view mirror, has trouble thinking of any.

“Hmmm, let me see,” Gordon said. “I haven’t had too many frustrating moments.”