Elliott Has Become A Big Jeff Gordon Fan

Some expect Jeff Gordon to choke on his inexperience and lose the Winston Cup championship despite his big lead with eight races to go.

Bill Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup champion, is not among them.

“The way I see it, (car owner) Rick Hendrick is going to put everything he’s got into that deal,” Elliott said of Gordon’s effort to win the title. “He’s got many things to gain and nothing to lose.

“Jeff’s done a good job on the race track and a good job off the race track in handling all the situations,” he added. “He’s got a good team that’s stayed together, and that to me makes a lot of difference in this day and time.

“Having people that stay together and stay consistent makes a lot of difference and (crew chief) Ray Evernham has been with him a number of years, throughout his Busch (Grand National) career and his Winston Cup career. Ray knows everything they need to do and Jeff has the capability of winning anywhere he goes.

“Maybe lack of experience in a place or two might cost him a position or two, but I don’t think it’s going to cost him a championship. Unfortunate circumstances might do that.”

Gordon led Sterling Marlin, who also has never competed for the Winston Cup title before, by a season-high 217 points going into this weekend’s race at Richmond. Dale Earnhardt, still hoping to win his third straight series title and a record-setting eighth career championship, trailed Gordon by 294.

“Sterling is good, but he’s hot and cold at a lot of places,” Elliott said. “Jeff’s been on pretty much everywhere he’s been. That’s what’s going to win you a championship.”

Big bucks

Gordon, who has topped NASCAR’s top stock car division with six wins in 23 starts, also easily leads the money list with $2,154,315.

But he’s far from the only big winner on the Winston Cup circuit.

Seven other drivers have won more than $1 million this season, with several others still within shouting distance of that magic number.

The drivers who have surpassed $1 million include Earnhardt, Marlin, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte and Dale Jarrett.

Ricky Rudd is sitting at $823,339 and Ted Musgrave at $782,310.

Big bucks II

Elliott remains the only driver to win the Winston Million, a $1 million prize offered by series sponsor R.J. Reynolds through its Winston Select brand of cigarettes to any driver who can win at least three of NASCAR’s Big Four races - the Daytona 500, Winston Select 500, The Coca-Cola 500 and Southern 500.

Elliott did it in 1985, the first year the prize was offered, and nobody has cashed in since.

Winston also offers a $100,000 bonus to any driver winning two of the Big Four in the same year, but nobody was able to cash in on that in 1995, either.

Marlin won at Daytona, Martin took the Winston race at Talladega, Labonte won the Coca-Cola race at Charlotte and, last Sunday, Gordon earned his first Darlington victory in the Southern 500.

Chevy steamroller

When Chevrolet introduced its new Monte Carlo at the start of this season, replacing the Lumina as its Winston Cup entry, nobody knew what to expect.

Now, Chevrolet has its 12th Winston Cup title in 14 years, having clinched it with eight of 31 races remaining.

The Monte Carlos, which competitors Ford and Pontiac insist have a distinct aerodynamic advantage, have won 18 of the 23 races this season, including last Sunday’s Southern 500.

The Chevys have accumulated 180 points to 146 for Ford’s Thunderbirds and 101 for Pontiac Grand Prixs. Ford has won four races, Pontiac one.

Qualified success

Competition has gotten to the point in Winston Cup racing where even qualifying, which used to be taken for granted by series regulars, has become a tension-filled chore.

Just about every week, good teams miss qualifying by a matter of hundredths or thousandths of a second.

“I get more psyched up for qualifying than races because it’s an all-or-nothing deal,” says Michael Waltrip, who has run all the races this season and is eighth in the points.

But Waltrip has had to use several provisional starts, meaning he has made races by virtue of his team’s standing in the points rather than his efforts on the track.

“Until this year, I have never worried about making the race,” Waltrip said. “I used a provisional starting spot or two, but I never worried. This year, we used all the (provisional) spots allotted to us right off the bat and there are still a lot of races to go.

“You get one lap and either you put a good time on the board or you mess up and get a bad time,” he said. “It’s all over in about 30 seconds at most places. That is a whole lot of preparation and effort for just 30 seconds of work.

“A lot of drivers get more excited about qualifying than the race on Sunday,” Waltrip added. “When the race begins, you know you have, in most cases, about 500 miles to get the job done. You start the race relaxed and ready to battle for 500 miles.

“Qualifying can’t be that way. You have to be mentally and physically prepared for qualifying.”

Up front

Gordon’s win at Darlington Raceway came from a fifth-place start.

That means 77 of the 85 races at NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway have now been won from the top 10 on the grid.