Best Daytona 500 Finishes, No. 3
February 10, 2010
1999: Changing Of
The Guard — For Good; Gordon Holds Off Earnhardt
(Note: This is the
third installment in a five-part series on some of
the best Daytona 500 finishes in the history of “The
Great American Race.” Finishes were chosen based on
the drama they created — and the historical value
that resulted.)
Today, we
take a look at No. 3 in the countdown:
Jeff
Gordon’s .128-second victory over Dale Earnhardt, in
1999.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2010) — At the outset
of the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, the
“changing of the guard,” so to speak, had already
taken place for all practical purposes.
At that point, Jeff Gordon had won the series
championship three times in the previous four years.
Dale Earnhardt’s last title was but a speck in the
rear-view mirror, having happened in 1994.
Gordon, the rookie of the year in 1993, winner of
the inaugural Indianapolis event in ’94, had
captured championships in ’95, ’97 and ’98.
In the 1999 Daytona 500, Gordon added some
punctuation to that three-year run of domination
which had ended an era and polarized the sport’s fan
base. “Gordon vs. Earnhardt” had become a theme for
each and every race, with the older racer typically
getting the better end of the deal in terms of fan
support. Gordon took to telling people he didn’t
mind all the boos during pre-race introductions. “As
long as they’re booing, I know I’m still winning;
when they stop booing I’ll get worried,” Gordon
would say.
Gordon, you see, had usurped a legend, much like
Darrell Waltrip had done years before when knocking
the “King”, Richard Petty, off his throne with three
titles in the first half of the 1980s.
Any fans who weren’t convinced of that prior to the
1999 Daytona 500 had to be ready to agree after the
race, which Gordon won by only .128-second over
Earnhardt.
And while their duel over the race’s last 10 laps
was memorable, it actually was somewhat overshadowed
by Gordon’s charge to the front 11 laps from the
finish. Riding below the yellow line to get past
leader Rusty Wallace, Gordon had to squeeze his No.
24 Chevrolet between Wallace on his right and Ricky
Rudd on his left, entering Turn 1; Rudd had just
rolled off pit road to return to the race and was
travelling considerably slower than the oncoming
pack of cars.
Then, after staving off Wallace and Mike Skinner for
the rest of the lap, Gordon held the lead for good.
Earnhardt soon settled in behind him and tried a
variety of passing attempts the rest of the way,
none of them successful.
Said Gordon: “Trying to keep Earnhardt behind me was
one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do in a
race car. He was setting me up every lap. I really
thought he was going to get me.
“To pull off a big win like that is exciting,
especially because of the way it came down to Dale
Earnhardt and myself."
