By The Commish

The date was May 29, 1994. The Cup circuit was enjoying its homestand in Charlotte and the 11th race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600. The NASCAR world was buzzing because three cars had broken the magical 180-mph mark in qualifying, led by the 22 year-old Jeff Gordon. But the big stories of the race were political-— the Goodyear vs. Hoosier tire wars-— and geographical—- John Andretti was trying to pull the first Indianapolis 500/Coke 600 double. As the grren flag dropped in the late spring sunshine, few could have expected what was to come.

Though Gordon led the field to the green flag, he only led one lap before falling back to ride comfortably in the top 10. The announcers—- the venerable Ken Squier, Richard Petty, and studio host Rick Benjamin on TBS-— were focused on that year’s "Big Four," which was comprised of Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, and Ernie Irvan.

Earnhardt was trying to defend his 1993 win at Charlotte, while Geoff Bodine was struggling to keep Alan Kulwicki's #7 team alive on Hoosiers. Early in the race, Squier and Petty consistently passed over Gordon as they commented on the way the race was developing. It was 90 laps into the race before the camera focused on the rainbow-striped Chevrolet and the seven-time champion opined that the young driver was "a natural racecar driver, he just needs more experience." It was clear that Gordon was not one of the drivers that the broadcast team thought would contend that night.

There were very few cautions in the first 150 laps, necessitating green flag pit stops and the broadcasters noted that Earnhardt's team had made a very fast 18.3 second stop while Rusty Wallace's pit aces had knocked off a lightning-fast 16.7 second stop. Matters changed on lap 189 when Mark Martin cut a tire and wrecked, taking a number of good cars with him, during a green flag pit cycle. By the time 200 laps had ticked away, pit stops had reduced the cars on the lead lap to 10, with Earnhardt fighting to make his lap back. In that top 10, though the broadcasters took little note of it, was Gordon. Both Squier and Petty were more interested that the soon-to-retire Harry Gant was running 10th.

John Andretti crashed early, resulting in his making 17 pit stops by lap 230. Morgan Shepherd, running solidly in third, crashed on lap 318, leaving nine cars on the lead lap. Gordon was the only Chevrolet in the top ten. By this point, the race seemed to be a duel between Rusty Wallace (who amused himself on yellow flag laps by harassing Elmo Langley in the pace car) and Dale Jarrett, driving the #18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. The broadcasters had filled time throughout the race with picture-in-picture interviews with Wallace, Earnhardt, and Darrell Waltrip. Finally, they focused on Gordon who was running fourth on lap 340. Squier told the television viewers the few facts he had on file for Gordon. That he was from Pittsboro, Indiana, and had won 600 races before he came to NASCAR. Then he asked Petty if Gordon were as tough as Dale Earnhardt. Petty's answer reflected long-held stock-car prejudices about how racers were developed. He said that Gordon wasn't as tough as Dale Earnhardt because Gordon had always driven good cars whereas Earnhardt had raced on a shoestring budget and had to prove himself. The King drew himself up and said, "When things get tough here, we'll see how tough [Gordon] is."

And Gordon showed that toughness over the last 50 laps of the race. While Petty and Squier openly doubted that Gordon could hold on to his position, pit reporter Dick Berggren asked Ray Evernham his predictions, and Evernham stated what would in later years become obvious: "With ten laps to go, I'll put money on Jeff Gordon." A few laps later, the director inserted a pop-up interview with Gordon talking about the importance of saving equipment for the last 50 laps and knowing how to manage the race from a strategic point of view. Whatever assistant director had taped that spot was prescient. The race would come down to strategy, tire management, and Gordon's ability to press when the time came.

In the last 40 laps of the race, all the teams had to pit. Wallace, leading the race at lap 375, dove in for 4 tires in 16.5 seconds. Jarrett, Irvan, and Bodine followed, giving up as much as four seconds to Wallace. The last competitive car to pit was Gordon on lap 380, and Evernham trusted his young driver's ability to save his tires. A 9.5 second stop for right-side tires put Gordon back on track in second behind Ricky Rudd, who had stayed out on old tires hoping for a late caution to trap the field a lap down. Though Squier and Petty questioned the decision, all race long Goodyear had been fast early in the runs, then fallen off badly after about 15 laps. Gordon closed the gap to Rudd, using a combination of hard charging and picks from lapped traffic to take the lead at lap 390 when Rudd finally pitted.

With 8 laps to go, Squier mentioned the possibility of a Gordon victory for the first time, comparing Gordon to David Pearson, who won his first race at Charlotte in 1961. With five laps to go, Gordon lapped Gant and Petty finally conceded that the young driver was "gettin' it done." When the white flag flew, Squier finally conceded that Gordon would win: "This sensational young driver at 22 years of age, finding the only way to improve on his impressive finish of 1993 at this race where he finished second to Dale Earnhardt, now looks to join the ranks of Fireball Roberts and David Pearson." The rainbow stripes crossed the finish line well ahead of the second-place Wallace. As his crew celebrated, his fiancée cheered, and the crowd watched Dale Earnhardt give Gordon his first congratulatory tire doughnut. It was clear a new era had arrived.

The King had nearly the last word. He told the TBS audience, "Everybody knew he was goin' to win, we just didn't know when." As an emotional Gordon pulled into victory lane, everybody knew. The first win was on the books. Four more poles in a row would follow at the Coca-Cola 600. The first championship was only 17 months away. A star was born that humid night in Charlotte and NASCAR would never be the same.

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