This is the car Jeff drove for the Busch Clash in 1997. Dupont came
out with a special paint called Premier and decided to show it off
with Jeff's car. Only the pole sitters from the 1996 season are able to race in the Clash. The 20 lap race is broken into segments of 10 each with the field inverting for the last 10 laps. In the first 10 laps Gordon placed 12th but in the second 10 laps Gordon took the lead on lap 12 to win his second Busch Clash.
A big congratulations here...this is Jeff's win at the Daytona
500 in 1997. Good start to the season. Not only did Jeff win but teammates Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven placed second and third respectively. Only lap 110 Gordon felt a tire going down. He got lucky and pitted on a caution thanks to Greg Sacks. On lap 189 the big crash occurred. Earnhardt tried to get past Gordon but Earnhardt brushed the wall and got a tap behind from Dale Jarrett sending Earnhardt flipping causing Ernie Irvan to get in the mess.
The second race of the 1997 season was at Rockingham,NC. Gordon also won this race. He passed Jarrett on lap 351 to take the checkered flag. The season was looking good!
Here's Jeff's win at Martinsville. After a spin in the race it looked as if Jeff's oppurtunity for a win would be over.Gordon led twice for 432 laps in the 500-lap
race, including the final 125 in claiming his 23rd
Winston Cup career victory. That gave him the
race record for the most laps led by a driver in
the spring Martinsville event. The former record
was set by Cale Yarborough in 1974 when he
set the pace for 427 laps. Richard Petty
possesses the track record, leading 480 laps in
1970.
The Food City 500 at Bristol was hot topic of controversy for Jeff's third win. A last lap "love tap" given by Gordon took the lead from Rusty Wallace. Rubbin is racing and Gordon won, much to the dismay of some fans! Me? I was of course...elated at another win!
Here's Jeff's car he drove in the
Winston Select at Charlotte in May. Its done up especially for
the Jurassic Park ride.
Here's Jeff's win at the non points race, The Winston Select. A special paint job for the Jurrassic Park ride was on the car. The race is ran in segments of 25 laps. Gordon passed teammate Terry Labonte for the win. Jeff is only the 3rd driver to have won more than one Winston Select.
On a rainy night in Charlotte, NC the Rainbow Warriors perservered for another win. Rain threatened all day and night. The start of the race was on hold for 26 minutes due to rain. After the start on lap 55 a pit stop became critical. The left front tire was taken from the spindle and stuck the jack handle and let the car down hard. Gordon pitted again while repairs were made to the frame and body which put him in the back of the field. On lap 184 the rain came causing a 2 hour 37 mintute delay. At 11:13 p.m. the rain cleared and the field rolled off. Jeff slowly moved his way through the field. With it getting late the drivers were told to race another 20 laps. Jeff took the lead for the win...kinda unbelieveable!
Here's Jeff's win at Pocono in June. He almost went a lap down after cutting down a tire on lap 21. Quick work by the pit crew kept Gordon on the lead lap but at the end of the field. By lap 50 he was in the top 10. After seeing a few cars drop out of the field Jeff was in the lead. He and the Rainbow Warriors "Refused to Lose" and won the race.
Next win comes from the California 500 at the new California Speedway. Fuel milage was the name of the game here. All the leaders needed to pit for fuel to make it to the end but the Rainbow Warriors took a chance hoping they could make it to the end. After the race ad Victory Lap, the tank was DRY!
The Bud at the Glen marked Jeff's first road course win in his Winston Cup career. Steadily he climbed throug the field takiing the lead on lap 53. Jeff lead the final 28 laps to take the win.
1997 was the first time two races were ran at the New Hampshire International Raceway. In the CMT 500 Jeff ran a typical race inching his way gradually up through the field to take another win.
Winning the Daytona 500 and Coca Cola 600 were big wins but when added to the win here at the Mountain Dew 500 in Darlington, SC Jeff became the Million Dollar Man. Winning 3 out of the 4 big races of the season entitled Jeff as the winner of The Winston Million. Bill Elliott was the first driver to win this prize in 1985...Jeff being the second! Handling was the problem most of the day. With 67 laps to go Gordon scraped the all on turn 2 but the damage was only to the body. With 2 laps to go Jeff Burton and Gordon fought for the lead bumping and trading pain. In turn one on the last lap Burton backed off giving the lead to Gordon.
And last but CERTAINLY not least a pic of the 1997 Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon! Way to go Jeff and the Rainbow Warriors!
To read more about the 1997 Championship check out these other articles:
� 1997 [email protected]
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