Advertisement

Gordon goes after another Earnhardt record

Share
From the Associated Press

Last weekend, Jeff Gordon matched one of Dale Earnhardt’s career marks. This week, he has the chance to tie another.

The four-time NASCAR champion won last Saturday’s race at Phoenix, tying Earnhardt for sixth on the all-time victory list with 76.

A win today in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway would be his 11th in restrictor-plate competition -- the same number that Earnhardt, considered the master of the plate tracks, won.

Advertisement

Earnhardt’s last victory before his death in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500 came on Talladega’s 2.66-mile oval in the fall of 2000, a race in which he put on one of the greatest finishing spurts in stock car history.

The Intimidator, who some observers insist could see the wind currents on the big tracks, drove from 18th to victory in the last five laps of that race.

It was his 10th career win at Talladega, but two of them came before NASCAR began requiring the horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates to keep speeds down. He also won three times at Daytona International Speedway, the other plate track.

“He taught me a lot on and off the track, and some of the things he did on the track -- especially restrictor-plate tracks -- were simply amazing,” said Gordon, who honored Earnhardt after his Phoenix win by holding a No. 3 flag out the window as he drove his victory lap. “I learned so much just by following him in the draft.

“And I was schooled many other times by him when I thought I had the advantage.”

While some fans of the elder Earnhardt threw beer cans and booed as Gordon drove around the one-mile Phoenix oval displaying the flag, Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Gordon “a class act” and thanked him for remembering his father.

“Any time you accomplish something that Senior did, you’ve done something special,” Gordon said. “But I also know that, if he were still with us, I’d still be chasing him.”

Advertisement

Gordon, who currently leads the Nextel Cup standings by 74 points over Jeff Burton, also tops the series in poles (3), top fives (6), top 10s (7) and average finish (4.5) after eight races.

Advertisement