FUMES

Tuesday

Mar012011

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 12:21PM

March 2, 2011

For one brief shining moment at least, Jeff Gordon is back.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. No, it wasn't another Daytona 500 win for Jeff Gordon, but I bet his win last weekend in Phoenix was almost as sweet for him. It had been 66 races since Jeff Gordon's last win in NASCAR's top level Sprint Cup series, and as hard as that is to fathom it must have been excruciating for Gordon, who at his peak could be as dominant a driver as any in NASCAR history (at least until Jimmie Johnson came along anyway).

This was Gordon's 83rd win in NASCAR Cup competition tying him for fifth place all time with Cale Yarborough. And considering that, now might be a good time to remind ourselves and appreciate just how great Gordon has been over his career. It might be hard to believe now but this is Gordon's 19th season in NASCAR, and he will be turning 40 in August. Not long ago it seemed he was the supremely talented kid from California by way of Indiana who burst on the NASCAR scene winning races in bunches and transforming the sport in the process. Back then Gordon wasn't just an outsider, he was from another planet altogether as he and crew chief Ray Evernham schooled the NASCAR field on how to win races the more modern, contemporary way. Polished, poised and blistering fast, Gordon's success also unleashed a wave of young talent that came from all forms of motorsport and who descended on NASCAR with something to prove and in a hurry to prove it.

Gordon's rise even indirectly pushed the late great Dale Earnhardt's persona even higher, providing the contrast between the "new" and "old" NASCAR, which in turn brought out fans in droves and helped propel the sport forward to an entirely new level of popularity. Though Gordon's star has been overshadowed of late by Jimmie Johnson's incredible run to glory, make no mistake about the impact he has had on NASCAR and American motorsport in general.

As an observer and enthusiast of the sport I always wanted to see Jeff in IndyCars or in an F1, and that brief test he did at Indianapolis where he swapped rides with Juan Pablo Montoya just fueled my wish for that to happen. But alas that was not to be as Gordon, lured by the money in NASCAR, went on to a brilliant career in what is now the dominant form of motorsport here in the U.S.

No matter what happens this season (and wouldn't it be some story if Gordon is the one who finally stops his protege's championship streak?), Jeff Gordon will go down in history as one of the greatest racers of all time.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Indianapolis, Indiana, 1965. A bird's-eye view of Parnelli Jones' No. 98 Lotus-Ford before qualifying for that year's Indianapolis 500. Jones would start the 500 in fifth position and finish second to the great Jim Clark (Lotus-Ford) and ahead of Mario Andretti, who finished third.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.