DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 1997            TAG: 9711180452

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: ANALYSIS 

SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA.                      LENGTH:   84 lines

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PRETTY JEFF GORDON WON UGLY. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT HE WON.

Years from now, when the story is written of how Jeff Gordon assumed Dale Earnhardt's throne in the NASCAR Winston Cup series, it won't matter so much that he finished it off ugly.

It will be a footnote that he won his first title in 1995 while finishing 32nd in the final race, and that he won his second title on Sunday in the fashion of a boxer who gets beat up in the final rounds but has a big enough lead on the judges' cards to prevail.

By any reasonable measure, Gordon won the championship, in spirit at least, when he won the Winston Million at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend. He iced the cake two weeks later with his 10th victory of the year at New Hampshire, capping a season that included his first win in the Daytona 500.

But NASCAR has this thing about entertainment value, an ethic that promotes the notion that it ain't over even after it ought to be over. And it has a points system that makes a high finish almost the equal of winning, but harshly penalizes a bad finish. In other words, the championship is very tough to win, but real easy to lose.

This year, after winning the title in spirit, Gordon in the stretch run became, because of the points system, the man in the entertainment spotlight. And what a spectacle he provided in Sunday's NAPA 500, which was won by Bobby Labonte.

To be fair, one can look at the championship battle as the final and truest challenge of the mettle of a driver; an elusive goal that establishes that a Daytona 500 victory, a Winston Million and a 10-win season just may not be enough.

And the random bad luck that so often comes into play in a mechanical sport such as stock-car racing instills such a sense of uncertainty that even the best of teams can get spooked and start sputtering under the pressure.

That's what happened to Gordon, much to the delight of his many boo-birds, who no doubt enjoyed the gaudy display of stumbling and gagging that he and his team put on at Atlanta before finally eking out a 14-point victory over Dale Jarrett.

Perhaps Gordon and his team finally became unglued from the psychic impact of those thousands of high-decibel boos that cascaded out of the grandstands Sunday after Sunday during driver introductions.

In any event, Gordon and the Rainbow Warriors gave no finer, more entertaining display of trying to choke under pressure than they did this past weekend at Atlanta. Everybody pitched in.

Crew chief Ray Evernham got the ball rolling last week when he was quoted in USA Today as saying he would be looking for other challenges in a few years. Gordon was upset. And so was Evernham, who said he was misquoted.

Gordon pitched in Saturday with his boneheaded crash on pit road.

The team did its share shortly thereafter by overfilling Gordon's backup car with oil, causing some to spill during his qualifying lap, which wasn't pretty and put him 37th on the starting grid.

Finally, Mother Nature played a role by raining out the final Winston Cup ``Happy Hour'' practice after only 15 minutes, short-circuiting the team's ability to set up the backup car.

Still, Gordon didn't choke completely. He won the title. He finished an uncharacteristic 17th, three laps down. But he didn't lose the big trophy.

And his many detractors had to be somewhat satisfied that at least they got to see him squirm. He did provide some good entertainment.

``We certainly got their hopes up, that's for sure,'' Gordon said Sunday evening. ``So I think today was the day where we were able to prove that we didn't self-destruct.''

``I promise you,'' said Evernham, ``someday we're going to win one of these things in an Earnhardt style.''

In the final analysis, Gordon camethrough with what he needed to do to claim the throne as NASCAR's next superstar.

In his first five years in the Winston Cup series, he has won two championships and has only lost one. He has won 29 races. He has two 10-win seasons. He has been the dominant driver three straight years.

Most importantly, whether it was done ugly or not, Gordon has avoided the fate of becoming known for losing championships rather than winning them. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jeff Gordon hoisted the Winston Cup trophy after finishing 17th in

the season finale at Atlanta.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Although driver and team struggled in Atlanta, Jeff Gordon survived

the jitters and did what he had to do to claim his second

championship.

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