Third Daytona 500 victory the sweetest for Gordon
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jeff Gordon arrived 14 years ago as a wide-eyed 19-year-old who marveled at the size and speed of the place and felt chills just looking through the windshield at Daytona International Speedway.
Two years later, the scrawny Hoosier with the cheesy mustache proclaimed his fitness for the big leagues by winning a qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
Rarely a day goes by now, some 70 victories, four NASCAR titles and $68 million in race winnings later, that Jeff Gordon isn’t reminded of how much Daytona has meant to his life.
And now, as a three-time winner, every lap, every pass, every victory means more to him than the previous one or the one before.
“This is the third time, and knowing what the other experiences were like and being a part of the sport as many years as I have, it allows me to really recognize how special this event is, how big the Daytona 500 is,” Gordon said Monday morning, wearing his gaudy leather winner’s jacket and a smile that was even brighter.
“The Daytona 500 is so over the top to win, and it means so much more. To have Robbie (Loomis) on board to win his first Daytona 500 as crew chief was awesome, and just to know what a special team we have makes it that much more meaningful.
“This one is definitely sweeter than the other two.”
Gordon scored his third 500 victory in a manner similar to his first, with an aggressive pass for the lead late in the race.
In 1997, he dropped low, nearly to the grass, to get veteran Bill Elliott in Turn 1 as the 195th lap began. In 1999, he made his move in the same place with 10 laps to go, threading the needle of leader Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd, who was one lap down.
Sunday, Gordon went high around defending champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., knowing if he didn’t complete the pass in Turn 3, the inside line would quickly draft past.
It worked, and Gordon, now an experienced and savvy 33, hooted and hollered and bounded about victory lane, spraying champagne on anyone wearing a blue-and-red DuPont uniform. Later, his team joined Gordon on his yacht.
“Walking on that boat was similar to driving into Victory Lane last night,” he said. “I was screaming and yelling, high-fiving and enjoying the moment as much as I could. When Robbie and the guys got on the boat, it was the same thing over again.”
Winning disrupted Gordon’s schedule – he had to cancel an appearance in Los Angeles to head to the East Coast – and it also created extra work for the guys who were celebrating Sunday night on Gordon’s yacht and near the team’s headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
The Chevrolet that Hendrick Motorsports had spent nearly six months building will now spend the next year in Daytona USA, the museum adjacent to Daytona International Speedway. But they’ll come up with another car for four races in which carburetor restrictor plates are used to keep speeds in check – the July race at Daytona and the two in Talladega, Ala.
In the meantime, the series moves to Fontana, Calif., for the second of 36 races this Sunday. The event will provide the first taste of competition with the shorter spoilers and softer tires NASCAR will require for most races this year.
Daytona success won’t translate to the California Speedway, but Gordon expects to be strong, nonetheless.
“It’s the upcoming races with the new rules, without the restrictor plates that are really going to show what this championship season’s going to be all about,” Gordon said.