This Page Is Dedicated to the 2001 Winston Cup CHAMPIONS, Jeff Gordon and the Rainbow Warriors!
Jeff Gordon cheated out of 2nd Daytona 500 win! Ward Burton pulls off his 1st Daytona 500 win after a late red flag!!
Jeff Gordon was cheated out of his 2nd career Daytona 500 win! After bouncing from the back to the front to the back and to the front again, Jeff Gordon had the lead ahead of Sterling Marlin on the restart with 6 laps remaining. Seconds after the green flag dropped, Gordon didn't increase the speed of the field too early and cars behind him bunched up and spun out, causing the caution to come out, but the 6 lead cars did not see this. Sterling Marlin ducked to the inside, trying to pass Gordon. Gordon tried to block him and Sterling went below the yellow line, that calls for a penalty. In the act, Marlin spun Gordon out causing Gordon to pit and go to the end of the line of cars. The red flag came out as officials decided whether to penalize Marlin or not. The field was parked on the straightaway and Marlin was informed he had damamge to his right-front fender. He hopped out of the car (the cars are stopped, remember) and examined the damage. He tried pulling the bent fender back out, which is ALSO illegal. After time passed, Marlin was not penalized for dropping below the yellow line, but WAS penalized for trying to fix damage to the car under red flag conditions. So now, the order is...Ward Burton started the field again for the remaining 3 laps, and Gordon and Marlin were at the back. In the end, Burton won, Marlin 8th, and Gordon 9th.
Click here for the results from the Daytona 500!
Next race: Rockingham!
Jeff Gordon: Leavin' 'Em In His Dust!
Career Highlights:
1993Jeff won the Gatorade 125 qualifying race at Daytona International Raceway, the first rookie to accomplish this in over 30 years and became the first rookie driver to lead the first lap at the Daytona 500.
1993Jeff and Brooke met at Victory Lane at the Gatorade 125 (Brooke, Jeff's wife, was a former Miss Winston).
1993Jeff won the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, beating Bobby Labonte, and finishing 14th in Winston Cup points.
1994Jeff won his first race in 1994, the Coca~Cola 600.
1994He won the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1995Jeff won the Winston Select All-Star race and became the first driver to win all three segments.
1995NASCAR Winston Cup Championship #1 winning 7 races at 24 years old, Jeff was the 2nd youngest driver to do so. Bill Rexford was 23 when he won in 1950.
1996He won 10 races and finished 2nd in Winston Points, 37 short of Bobby Labonte.
1996Jeff was named True Value Man of the Year for his charity involvement.
1997At just 25 years old, Jeff became the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500 with Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven finsihing second and third right behind him.
1997Jeff won the inaugural California 500 at California Motor Speedway.
1997He won his first road course race at Watkins Glen.
1997NASCAR Winston Cup Championship #2 with 10 wins, 22 top 5 finishes, and 23 top 10 finishes.
1998He was awarded Future Legend Award at NASCAR's Night in Hollywood.
1998Became the first 2-time winner of the Brickyard 400 and recorded the largest payday in racing history by winning $1.6 million at the Brickyard 400, his first "No Bull Million" from Winston.
1998Jeff was the first person ever to win the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, and by winning the race won his second "No Bull Million" from Winston.
1998NASCAR Winston Cup Championship #3. Jeff ties the 2nd-place record for most championships won in a career.
1999Ray Evernham left as Jeff Gordon's crew chief to start his own team with Dodge. Brian Whitesell took over as crew chief winning his first 2 races with Jeff. Robbie Loomis is the current crew chief.
2001Jeff wins his first race of the 2001 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Las Vegas 400.
2001Jeff Gordon leads about 75% of the race at Dover Downs to win his second race of 2001!
2001Jeff Gordon wins two races in a row, at both Michigan and Dover Downs! It marks Jeff's 55th win and Hendrick Motorsports' 100th!
2001Jeff Gordon does it again! He wins another two races in a row at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen, gaining a big points lead!
2001Jeff Gordon wins the inaugural race at Kansas Motor Speedway in Kansas City, picking up his 6th win in 2001!
2001>NASCAR Winston Cup Championship #4. Jeff SETS the 2nd place record for most championships in a career.
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Email: MCGarfield55@aol.com
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