85 Wins! Jeff Gordon Makes History!
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011Story and photo by: Drew Hierwarter
After multiple rain storms that caused a NASCAR race to be moved to a Tuesday for only the second time since 1978, Jeff Gordon returned to the track where he made his very first NASCAR Sprint Cup start, Atlanta Motor Speedway. He started in the 21st position on that day in 1992, and finished 31st, crashing out and only completing 164 of the races 328 laps.
Just two months short of nineteen years later Jeff Gordon rolled into victory lane at that same Atlanta Motor Speedway for the 85th win of his career and moved into sole possession of 3rd on NASCAR’s All-Time Win list.
Non-other than “The King”, Richard Petty and “The Silver Fox” David Pearson have more wins than Jeff Gordon. (Yes, I know that Bobby Allison maintains to this day that he has 85 wins. But the official NASCAR record only gives him 84 and that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms!)
And it wasn’t easy. He was not only fighting a very loose, sliding race car for the last 25 laps of the race, but had to fend off a determined charge from his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, who was also dealing with his own loose condition, driving as much with the throttle as he was with the steering wheel.
To date, nine drivers from NASCAR’s Premier series have been inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC. Seven of them have fewer wins than Jeff Gordon. And he’s not done yet. He turned 40 years old in August of this year and most likely will race for at least another five years.
There’s no reason to think he won’t win a few more and there’s even talk that he has a good chance to stop Jimmie Johnson’s run of five consecutive championships. His win today in Atlanta moved him into 5th place in the 2011 points with only one race (Richmond) left before the start of the Chase.
Whether he wins the championship this year or not, his win today in Atlanta solidified his place in the history of NASCAR. And when he does finally hang up his helmet for the last time, he’s a shoe in for induction into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Not too bad for a kid from California who learned his trade driving sprint cars in the dirt.