Gordon Has About a Million Reasons to Win on Sunday

Jeff Gordon has won three of his last four starts at Darlington Raceway and if he wins again Sunday in the Southern 500, he will become the second winner of the Winston Million.

But the 1.366-mile egg-shaped track “Too Tough to Tame” won’t be the same as the one Gordon won his three races on, or the one that was NASCAR’s first superspeedway when it opened in 1950.

The start-finish line has been moved to the opposite side of the track, creating new problems for cars going in and out of the pits.

“We’re going to have to tiptoe off the banking when we make a pit stop,” Gordon said after testing two days there in preparation for his million-dollar effort. “I think the qualifying speeds will be at least two miles [an hour] slower because you’re getting up to speed in a slower corner to take the green flag than before. We used to come off the old Turn 4, which was a really fast corner that carried a lot of speed to the starting line.”

Gordon, only 26 but already a former Winston Cup champion, is in line for a shot at the Winston Million after winning two of NASCAR’s four “Crown Jewel” races, which include the Daytona 500, Winston 500 at Talladega, Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and Southern 500 at Darlington. The $1 million goes to anyone winning three of the four.

Ray Evernham, crew chief on Gordon’s No. 24 Chevy Monte Carlo, warns that the team’s focus is more on the championship, and its $2 million end-of-season bonus, than on one race, even one for $1 million.

“We appreciate Winston for doing what they’re doing, but I’m also looking at 185 points and the $2-million championship,” Evernham said. “There’s so much media attention put to it, I’ve got a feeling that everything that goes with that whole thing does nothing but lessen your chances of winning the race.”

Gordon won at Daytona and Charlotte, and can become the first driver since Bill Elliott in 1985 to win three of the four and the bonus.

“Naturally, I don’t want anyone else to win the Winston Million,” said Elliott. “It’s nice knowing that you are the only one who has ever accomplished something like that. I’m sure Jeff wants it badly, but me and my team are ready to win again. Darlington has always been good to me.”

“Million Dollar Bill,” as he became known, has won five times there.

The master of Darlington, though, was David Pearson, with 10 victories before he retired. He also won the three Winston Million races, but it was in 1976, before there was a bonus for the accomplishment. Pearson says he’d be glad to offer Gordon some tips on winning--for a price.

“He said since he’s already won the Triple Crown, and he’s an expert on the matter, he’ll give me some tips for half the money,” Gordon said with a laugh. “He’s being really sneaky and sly about it, just the way he used to pull tricks against his competition. Maybe we’ll work something out, but half the money? I think we’re going to renegotiate.”

Pearson’s advice: “I think Jeff’s just going to have to be patient if he wants to win it. I won a lot of races at Darlington, but I lost a lot, too, early in my career because I was impatient. He’s proven he can win at Darlington. Now there’s just some added pressure that he’s got to deal with. I think he will be fine.”

Three others--Darrell Waltrip, the late Davey Allison and Dale Jarrett last year--have gone to Darlington with a shot at the Million and missed.

Gordon, who has won eight of 23 races this season, says he’s not as interested in the money as he is in winning.

“I’ve been racing professionally since I was 13 years old and I have been making some sort of money since then,” he said. “To me, money was never an issue. The money is always an afterthought to me. When I’m in the closing laps, racing wheel to wheel as hard as I can to get the checkered flag, I’m not saying, ‘I think this race pays $100,000 or a million bucks.’ What I’m really trying for is to win. The desire to win, to grasp the big trophy at the end, is what keeps me going.

“Besides, if I don’t win, I haven’t lost anything, but if I do, I’ve gained a great deal of money, prestige, and, most of all, the satisfaction of knowing I accomplished something that has rarely been done in our sport.”

L.A. GRAND PRIX

More than 400 vintage cars, from MGs and Triumphs to powerful Ford GT350s and Shelby Cobras, will be racing through the downtown streets of the historic Plaza section of Los Angeles for three days, starting Saturday. Opening ceremonies, featuring grand marshal Carroll Shelby, will be held daily on the Alameda Street start-finish line in front of Union Station at 12:10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10:30 a.m. Monday. Each day, following morning practice, there will be 10 races of 20-minute duration, starting at 12:35 p.m.

NHRA

Emotions will be running high today when Gary Scelzi, the Winston points leader in top fuel, goes to the line at Indianapolis Raceway Park to qualify for the U.S. Nationals in Alan Johnson’s family-owned dragster. It was at this race, a year ago, that Blaine Johnson, Alan’s younger brother, was killed after setting a qualifying record of 4.61 seconds. At the time, Johnson was the points leader, just as Scelzi is today after having been hand-picked by Alan Johnson to take the seat.

“Indy will be very emotional for Team Winston because of the anniversary of Blaine’s death,” Scelzi said. “We’ve been preparing for this since January, but now it’s time to deal with it. This situation provides me an opportunity to support the Johnsons like they’ve supported me all year. I hope I can help them cope with Indy, and somehow make it less painful for them.”

Curiously, the main challenge to Scelzi is expected to come from Cory McClenathan, Joe Gibbs’ driver, who has won the last four top-fuel events after debuting a Murf McKinney dragster at Denver. The new car is unbeaten in 16 rounds of competition. Last year, McClenathan was in the lane next to Johnson at the time of the fatal accident and went on to win the nationals. Afterward, he presented the champion’s trophy to the Johnson family.

CART

Fun-loving Alex Zanardi, whose spinning “doughnuts” on the start-finish line after winning CART races have endeared him to racing fans, if not to car owner Chip Ganassi, could possibly clinch the PPG Cup championship Sunday in the Molson Indy-Vancouver, run on a temporary road course in British Columbia. If chief challenger Gil de Ferran were not to finish, all Zanardi would need to do is finish sixth to win Team Ganassi’s second consecutive title. Jimmy Vasser won it last year. Zanardi holds a 38-point lead over his Brazilian rival and needs a 45-point margin to clinch the $1-million bonus even before the final two races at Laguna Seca and Fontana’s California Speedway.

Jeff Ward, who seemed on the verge of becoming the Indy Racing League’s most promising newcomer after finishing third in the Indianapolis 500, only to be snubbed by IRL teams, has been signed by Stefan Johansson to drive an Indy Lights car in the last three races, starting Sunday at Vancouver.

NECROLOGY

Pat Ray, former motorsports editor of the L.A. Times-Mirror and a newspaperman for more than 40 years until his retirement in 1993, died last Saturday at his home in Harbor City of complications of lung cancer. Ray, 66, had been a racing crewman at the Indianapolis 500 and received a citation from the California Racing Assn. for his interest in sprint car racing. Survivors include his wife, Karen Chambliss Ray; son, Irv, of Glendora; daughter, Wendy Ray Eliott, of Bishop; brother, Robert, of Tucson, Ariz.; and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1501 Palos Verdes Drive North, Harbor City.