He sure was. I was fortunate enough to attend the Spring Martinsville Winston Cup race in 1999 when John battled back from an early race spin to smoke Rusty, Gordon, and Jeff Burton in the last few laps. Absolutely amazing as those 3 guys took turns leading until John came up there with fresh tires and passed all three. He also domianted a Cup race for Cale Yarborough at Talladega I believe. Great memory. RIP,sir.
It was a day to remember, because it marked the changing of the guard in American motorsports, though nobody really knew it at the time. Earlier that day, when Al Unser, Jr. won the Indianapolis 500 (on his father's birthday), it not only marked his second Indy win, but the ninth Indianapolis 500 win for the Unser family since 1968, when Bobby Unser won the first of his three Indianapolis 500 crowns. And while he'd been an inactive driver for a number of years, Al Unser, Sr. officially retired less than two weeks prior to Raceday America 1994 (and just a few days after another Indy legend, Johnny Rutherford, did likewise). Meanwhile, NASCAR was still trying to fill the void created by the death of Davey Allison about 10 months earlier, because Allison seemed destined to be the one to usurp Dale Earnhardt as NASCAR's next great champion. Earnhardt's other contemporaries, Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, and Terry Labonte were about the same age he was, except for Mark Martin, who was a bit younger, but had only recently showed he could be a dominant force in the sport when he won five times in the second half of the 1993 season, including four consecutive races from mid-August through the Southern 500, but was winless in 1994, and wouldn't get a win until Watkins Glen in mid-August. So when Jeff Gordon took the victory, which was considered by many to be WAY overdue at that time, many felt it could be the beginning of a changing of the guard in auto racing in America, something he would add more authority to when he won in NASCAR's debut at Indy, something that only added to the tie-in between his win in this race and the win by Al Unser, Jr. earlier that day, because Gordon would be destined to not only usurp Earnhardt as NASCAR's top driver, but given his success on the grounds where A.J. Foyt, the Unsers, and the recently retired Rick Mears reigned supreme for so long, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he would become the face of American racing for an entire generation. Of course, another footnote to all this is that, simply by taking the green flag, a member of another famous racing family made history, because John Andretti, the nephew of Mario Andretti and cousin to Michael, became the first driver to accomplish what's become known as "the double", racing at Indy (where he finished 10th driving for A.J. Foyt) and in the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and the first driver to race in both events in the same year since Donnie Allison in 1971. (Ironically, Donnie also drove for Foyt at Indy.)
4:38:20. "This is the greatest day of my life" I have a feeling that "greatest day of my life" changed quite a bit over time. Jeff was 22 years old here, 10 weeks away from turning 23.
I am sure. This is before he won the Daytona 500. Before he won at Brickyard. Before he got married twice. And had kids. I am sure a lot of those days he said that lol. Which was probably true at a time.
Go to the race of Coca-cola 600 !!! let's go for the 4 hours of NASCAR yééééé that rocks !!!! Thank you so much SMIFF TV . 46:26 the car #43 is beautifull anyway. 01:45:12 sacred crash anyway !!! The front of T.Bodine car is completely destroy god !.. 02:31:20 eanhardt who just kicked in the ass of Martin, and who without fate without incident I love !!!.. 02:46:48 T.Labonte Out unfortunately ! Many have gavin up on this race. 03:58:18 So far, i find the race very cool !
You can really tell Richard Petty wasn't much of a Dale Earnhardt fan! After crashing Mark Martin and taking out 8 or 9 cars, he said "They'll put some tape on him so he can go out and do it again"
17:28 race start 1:06:37 first caution 1:15:57 second green flag 1:45:10 second caution 1:54:47 third green flag 2:01:26 third caution 2:07:30 fourth green flag 2:07:35 fourth caution 2:14:10 fifth green flag was given off-screen 2:16:40 fifth caution 2:22:50 sixth green flag was given off-screen 2:23:32 sixth caution 2:32:14 seventh green flag 2:45:39 seventh caution 2:56:20 eighth green flag 3:12:50 eighth caution 3:19:02 ninth green flag 3:46:27 ninth caution 3:55:55 tenth green flag 4:35:38 end of the race
That wreck with Martin was totally his own fault IMO. Yes he had a rear tire go down, but he literally tried to pull down to the bottom of the track to get into the pits while in the middle of the racing pack. Dumb dumb dumb. He should have stayed up high, let everyone pass and either gone in after they'd passed him, or bit the bullet and lost a lap. As good as he was, sometimes its easy to see why he never won a championship or a major race like Daytona.
The King was really trying to downplay Gordon's success. This post-race was the very beginning of the #24 negativity. From Petty's "well he has the very best stuff" to Kenny's "it came down to a poker hand." I get Kenny because that was his brother, but little did they know, they better get used to it.
Petty had no idea what was unleashed that night. Kenny also came up with Jeff. They were both rookie contenders in 93. Kenny may have been a little jealous.
I thought the same with Kenny, but if you watch the satellite feed of the next race at Dover Kenny keeps bringing up Gordon like he is his biggest fanboy, even during commercials he is talking about him to the guys in the booth
The TBS broadcast was always one of the worst. They were blown away by the ESPN, tnn crews. Richard Petty was an amazing driver, but a lackluster commentator! Kenny was brutal in the pits too.
Just found out John Andretti passed thanks to these comment section RIP John Andretti 56 makes you think wow...Jeff Gordon named that car Brook poor guy I heard she was bangin Jeremy Mayfield hahahahahahahaha
RIP John Andretti, you were better than your stock car results showed
He sure was. I was fortunate enough to attend the Spring Martinsville Winston Cup race in 1999 when John battled back from an early race spin to smoke Rusty, Gordon, and Jeff Burton in the last few laps. Absolutely amazing as those 3 guys took turns leading until John came up there with fresh tires and passed all three.
He also domianted a Cup race for Cale Yarborough at Talladega I believe.
Great memory. RIP,sir.
Rusty was great in 1993 and 1994, 18 wins in 2 years, That black MGD car looked badass too
if it weren't for his bad luck at restrictor plates, he would have had more than 1 championship. absolutely dominate at short tracks / 1 mile tracks.
Jeff Gordon’s first win. A night to remember
It was a day to remember, because it marked the changing of the guard in American motorsports, though nobody really knew it at the time. Earlier that day, when Al Unser, Jr. won the Indianapolis 500 (on his father's birthday), it not only marked his second Indy win, but the ninth Indianapolis 500 win for the Unser family since 1968, when Bobby Unser won the first of his three Indianapolis 500 crowns. And while he'd been an inactive driver for a number of years, Al Unser, Sr. officially retired less than two weeks prior to Raceday America 1994 (and just a few days after another Indy legend, Johnny Rutherford, did likewise).
Meanwhile, NASCAR was still trying to fill the void created by the death of Davey Allison about 10 months earlier, because Allison seemed destined to be the one to usurp Dale Earnhardt as NASCAR's next great champion. Earnhardt's other contemporaries, Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, and Terry Labonte were about the same age he was, except for Mark Martin, who was a bit younger, but had only recently showed he could be a dominant force in the sport when he won five times in the second half of the 1993 season, including four consecutive races from mid-August through the Southern 500, but was winless in 1994, and wouldn't get a win until Watkins Glen in mid-August.
So when Jeff Gordon took the victory, which was considered by many to be WAY overdue at that time, many felt it could be the beginning of a changing of the guard in auto racing in America, something he would add more authority to when he won in NASCAR's debut at Indy, something that only added to the tie-in between his win in this race and the win by Al Unser, Jr. earlier that day, because Gordon would be destined to not only usurp Earnhardt as NASCAR's top driver, but given his success on the grounds where A.J. Foyt, the Unsers, and the recently retired Rick Mears reigned supreme for so long, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he would become the face of American racing for an entire generation.
Of course, another footnote to all this is that, simply by taking the green flag, a member of another famous racing family made history, because John Andretti, the nephew of Mario Andretti and cousin to Michael, became the first driver to accomplish what's become known as "the double", racing at Indy (where he finished 10th driving for A.J. Foyt) and in the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, and the first driver to race in both events in the same year since Donnie Allison in 1971. (Ironically, Donnie also drove for Foyt at Indy.)
We didn’t realize how good this time was while we watched. I mean, we know it was good but we didn’t know it was the most exciting era of Nascar.
Is it me but does the lighting on Gordon’s car in the thumbnail remind anyone else of the cover of the original Papyrus NASCAR racing game?
Not sure, but the thumbnail sure is beautiful.
100%. Nailed it!
I can see it
4:38:20. "This is the greatest day of my life"
I have a feeling that "greatest day of my life" changed quite a bit over time. Jeff was 22 years old here, 10 weeks away from turning 23.
I am sure. This is before he won the Daytona 500. Before he won at Brickyard. Before he got married twice. And had kids. I am sure a lot of those days he said that lol. Which was probably true at a time.
@@johnnyfive8388 Before he won the Winston Million, before he tied Richard Petty's season win mark.
@@canuckster24 Gordon will always be the goat
When Jeff Gordon became, "Jeff Gordon". #Forever24
A legend is born.
Thanks for putting this up
That went by fast! He's been retired for years! I became a #24 fan two years later in 1996!
My Dad and I were there!
That Gordon Guy seems pretty good, It will surely have a nice racing career in the future
When J Gordon changed just 2 tires. I said. He is going to win this race!!!
Thank you so much for sharing these, takes me back.
Go to the race of Coca-cola 600 !!! let's go for the 4 hours of NASCAR yééééé that rocks !!!!
Thank you so much SMIFF TV .
46:26 the car #43 is beautifull anyway.
01:45:12 sacred crash anyway !!! The front of T.Bodine car is completely destroy god !..
02:31:20 eanhardt who just kicked in the ass of Martin, and who without fate without incident I love !!!..
02:46:48 T.Labonte Out unfortunately !
Many have gavin up on this race.
03:58:18 So far, i find the race very cool !
Gordon is just warming up
Love watching these races! 🏁🤩👍
One thing that some forget about this race: Gordon the year before in his first Coke 600 won the pole and finished second
You can really tell Richard Petty wasn't much of a Dale Earnhardt fan! After crashing Mark Martin and taking out 8 or 9 cars, he said "They'll put some tape on him so he can go out and do it again"
17:28 race start
1:06:37 first caution
1:15:57 second green flag
1:45:10 second caution
1:54:47 third green flag
2:01:26 third caution
2:07:30 fourth green flag
2:07:35 fourth caution
2:14:10 fifth green flag was given off-screen
2:16:40 fifth caution
2:22:50 sixth green flag was given off-screen
2:23:32 sixth caution
2:32:14 seventh green flag
2:45:39 seventh caution
2:56:20 eighth green flag
3:12:50 eighth caution
3:19:02 ninth green flag
3:46:27 ninth caution
3:55:55 tenth green flag
4:35:38 end of the race
4:15 Won the Coke 300 six times?? 🤣🤣
That wreck with Martin was totally his own fault IMO. Yes he had a rear tire go down, but he literally tried to pull down to the bottom of the track to get into the pits while in the middle of the racing pack. Dumb dumb dumb. He should have stayed up high, let everyone pass and either gone in after they'd passed him, or bit the bullet and lost a lap.
As good as he was, sometimes its easy to see why he never won a championship or a major race like Daytona.
Couldn't have said it better.
The only reason he never won a championship is because of a fella named Jeff Gordon.
The King was really trying to downplay Gordon's success. This post-race was the very beginning of the #24 negativity. From Petty's "well he has the very best stuff" to Kenny's "it came down to a poker hand." I get Kenny because that was his brother, but little did they know, they better get used to it.
Petty had no idea what was unleashed that night.
Kenny also came up with Jeff. They were both rookie contenders in 93. Kenny may have been a little jealous.
I thought the same with Kenny, but if you watch the satellite feed of the next race at Dover Kenny keeps bringing up Gordon like he is his biggest fanboy, even during commercials he is talking about him to the guys in the booth
Kenny! Lol.
2:08:00 -- that could have been nasty
If Kyle makes the wrong move there, the racing back to the yellow flag rule comes to an end about a decade earlier.
No kidding. That was bad.
Should have Abolished Racing to the Yellow after that Near Miss.
The beginning of the Jeff Gordon Dynasty. Sorry Dale Sr fans.
When the rainbow warrior b came a household name #24 Jeff Gordon
The TBS broadcast was always one of the worst. They were blown away by the ESPN, tnn crews. Richard Petty was an amazing driver, but a lackluster commentator! Kenny was brutal in the pits too.
Also, this would be a theme for Rusty. Coming in second to Gordon.
Just found out John Andretti passed thanks to these comment section RIP John Andretti 56 makes you think wow...Jeff Gordon named that car Brook poor guy I heard she was bangin Jeremy Mayfield hahahahahahahaha
94? I was consumed with the Smith building at UNC Charlotte. I saw Kelly E. a couple of times, focus on my list. Work 24 hrs and do the the exam.
1:20:46 AKA The Chicken Bone Section
Ha, lol. Rockingham. We worked our way down the track, after the race (steep), into pit road. I have photos.
He named the car Brook... Hahahahahahahaha
Terrible coverage by this network!!
Blah blah blah!
Show us what is going on with the field! My goodness!! Pathetic coverage!!
Dale SR was worthless.
WTF
How ?