THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 13, 1995 TAG: 9511130158
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
In their first moments as Winston Cup champions, Jeff Gordon and the members of his team were almost too busy to acknowledge it.
Gordon was battling handling problems that had developed early in the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but crew chief Ray Evernham opted to leave him on the track past the time for his normal pit stop. That way, Gordon could lead a lap and earn five bonus points, which would clinch his first Winston Cup title.
When leader Sterling Marlin pitted for tires on lap 61, Gordon picked up the lead for a single lap, and the team's 10-month title campaign was over.
``OK, we just led a lap. That's the championship. We are the champions,'' Evernham told Gordon as he called him to the pits for his stop. ``OK, clear the pits. Clear the pits! Let's go! Get these people outta here. We've got work to do.''
After the stop, Evernham told his driver, ``Look, I know I gave up some track position. but you are the Winston Cup champion.''
``Good job, good job,'' Gordon replied matter-of-factly. ``I was able to hang onto (the car).''
On lap 72, when the first yellow flag flew, Gordon took a moment to say, ``I just want to say one thing: Congratulations, guys.''
``Congratulations to you. Let's go, let's go. Catch it up, catch it up,'' said Evernham, still busy with matters at hand.
A couple of laps later, with the yellow flag still out, Evernham had time to catch his breath.
``We gave up a lot of track positions, but, hell, you're the Winston Cup champion, Jeffrey,'' he said.
``Pretty awesome,'' Gordon replied. ``Pretty awesome.''
Car owner Rick Hendrick added his congratulations and persuaded Gordon's wife, Brooke, to come onto the radio.
``Congratulations,'' she said.
``Thank you, sweetie, I love you,'' he said.
``I love you, too,'' she said.
The title comes with a $1.3 million bonus from series sponsor R.J. Reynolds and close to another $1 million from the series point fund, making Gordon the first driver to earn more than $4 million in a single season.
THE WORK NEVER STOPS: Now that the season is over, Gordon is headed to Hawaii. But that doesn't mean the work stops in NASCAR-land.
Evernham said his first order of business today is to be in the shop at 7 a.m. to try to find out why his car drove like junk on Sunday.
Meanwhile, NASCAR officials will be at work at the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, once again testing the aerodynamics of the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Race winner Dale Earnhardt's Chevy was carted off to the tunnel, as was the Ford of Ernie Irvan, who finished seventh.
``The biggest reason is for us to figure out new rules for Daytona as soon as we can,'' NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. ``We wanted cars that came off the race track race-ready. Most of the data and information we find will probably be incorporated into the 1996 rule book.''
ANOTHER STEP FOR IRVAN: Ernie Irvan did not lead a lap Sunday, but he didn't need to in order to prove his success in the next phase of his long comeback.
Irvan was strong throughout the day and ran second for more than 40 laps late in the race before fading to seventh.
``This is a tough place, probably one of the toughest places,'' he said of Atlanta. ``And today we cleared another hurdle.
``I'm still governed by not being able to see as well out of my left eye. Maybe they'll do the surgery on it this winter and get it where I don't have to wear prism glasses. That's still a hindrance, but that's just part of it. Obviously, I've been able to do the job with what I've got to work with.''
TOP 10 CHANGES: While Jeff Gordon was nailing down the title Sunday, other drivers were changing positions in the points standings.
By finishing second Sunday, Sterling Marlin swiped third place from Mark Martin, whose team missed the chassis setup on his Ford. Martin finished 17th, three laps down.
And Bill Elliott, who finished fourth, moved into eighth place in the points, replacing Ricky Rudd, who finished 10th.
SCHUMACHER CRASHES: Michael Schumacher's attempt to be the first driver to win 10 Formula One races in a season ended when he collided with Jean Alesi in the 21st lap of the 81-lap Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.
Damon Hill picked up the victory, his fourth of the season.
Schumacher, who already had clinched his second consecutive driving title, was trying to break the record he shares with Nigel Mansell, who won nine times in 1992, when he and Alesi came together. Five laps later, Schumacher was finished, the victim of a suspension problem. by CNB