By The Commish

March 14 is a very special day for Jeff Gordon fans. It's the anniversary of the first Busch Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a race Gordon won in the #1 Baby Ruth-sponsored car for Bill Davis Racing. Gordon began the race from the pole—- his third straight on the way to a record 11 Busch Series poles that season. After a race that began with a lap three crash that eliminated nine drivers, including Ward Burton, Darrell Waltrip, and Shawna Robinson, and let Ernie Irvan too injured to race in the Cup race the next day, Gordon went on to defeat Harry Gant, Hut Stricklin, Davey Allison, and Morgan Shepherd on his way to winning three races and finishing fourth in Busch Series points for the year.

But that’s not while Gordon fans remember that Atlanta 300. They remember it for what happened off the track that day. Rick Hendrick and Humpy Wheeler were walking from the infield on their way to a hospitality appearance when Hendrick’s eye was caught by one car in particular. As Hendrick recalls it, "I noticed this solid white car leading the race. He was smoking all four tires in every turn on every lap. I remember telling Humpy to stop for a minute because this kid was getting ready to crash big time. I thought it was just a matter of time. As it went into the corner, I could see that it was extremely loose. I said, 'Man, that guy's gonna wreck! You just can't drive a car that loose.' He was on the ragged edge all day. As it turned out, he didn’t crash. He just kept smoking those tires and leading those laps. I walked away impressed, wondering who this kid was driving that race car."

Of course, it turned out that the kid driving the race car was Jeff Gordon. He doesn't remember the race being that extreme. He later recalled that "I remember Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin and some other guys starting right with me, and I was pretty intimidated. But I had a fast race car. I had to drive the car a little sideways, but I don’t remember all four wheels smoking like Rick says they did. The car was definitely sideways, but it would gradually tighten up and then we were just a rocket. I guess from Rick"s perspective, it looked like all four wheels were smoking. He was waiting for me to wreck, but I never did."

When Hendrick got back to the office on Monday, he told the story to Jimmy Johnson, the long-time general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, and said "I wish we could hire that kid." As it turned out, 'that kid's' roommate, Andy Graves, was working with Gary DeHart at Hendrick and told Johnson that Gordon was on a one-year contract at Bill Davis Racing and was being pursued by Jack Roush for a long-term deal. Johnson asked Graves to have Gordon get in touch with him, but the young driver thought he was being set up—“There’s no way Rick Hendrick wants to talk to me!” Gordon was also torn, knowing that Davis was trying desperately to get sponsorship for a long-term deal but not having success. It took more than a month, but finally a contact made through Graves and John Bickford got Gordon and Hendrick together. Once Hendrick agreed to take on Ray Evernham as Gordon’s crew chief, the deal was done. In May of 1992, Hendrick announced that he would field a third car for Gordon in the 1993 season. Despite the howling by Ford, the disappointment at Bill Davis Racing, and the vituperation of fans who attacked Gordon’s perceived lack of loyalty, Gordon and Evernham made the move to the DuPont Chevrolet and never looked back.

So when NASCAR returns to Atlanta this month, give thanks for Rick Hendrick's good eye, Humpy’s patience, and the persistence of Andy Graves and Jimmy Johnson. That team effort has resulted in one of the greatest partnerships in NASCAR history—- and all because of that kid in a white car's ability to drive it loose.

Photo: Victory lane: March 14, 1992

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