Editor’s Note: NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023. SPEED SPORT was founded in 1934 and was already on its way to becoming America’s Motorsports Authority when NASCAR was formed. As a result, we will bring you Part 51 of a 75-part series on the history of NASCAR as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News and SPEED SPORT Magazine.
Mark Martin had a dream season in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, but still hardly created a bump in the path of Jeff Gordon and his Ray Evernham-led Hendrick Motorsports team as Gordon set one record after another en route to his second consecutive series title and third in four years.
With teammate Terry Labonte having won the championship in 1996, Hendrick Motorsports reached dynasty status with its fourth straight championship.
Gordon tied Richard Petty’s modern-era single-season victory mark, winning 13 races.
In addition, he twice picked up $1 million bonuses from R.J. Reynolds via its No Bull 5 bonus program and set a single-season earnings mark of $6,175,867, excluding the championship award of over $2 million. His work also earned him his third Driver of the Year award.
“I am not believing the type of year I have had and to see the success that you know I have had,” Gordon said. “To me just winning races is all it takes. Then when I look at the races that we have won this year and the way that we won races and then to wrap it up with a championship. And to do this over the last three or four years is incredible.”
The opposition tried everything it could think of, including accusing the team of doctoring its tires, but could still not slow Gordon’s assault. Martin drove Jack Roush’ Ford Taurus to seven victories in the debut season for the new Ford body, but still finished a whopping 364 points behind Gordon.
Gordon Vs. Martin
Picking up 13 of the 16 victories for Chevrolet, Gordon’s DuPont team carried the banner for the nameplate throughout the season.
The 27-year-old driver has won 42 Winston Cup races and three championships in only six years on the circuit.
Gordon posted an amazing 26 top-five finishes during the 33-race season and finished in the top 10 28 times. He only failed to finish two events and completed 98.9-percent of all laps run. He also led the series with seven Busch Pole Awards.
Martin, meanwhile, scored 22 top-five efforts and 26 top 10s, while only failing to finish one race. His average finish was 8.64 while Gordon’s was an incredible 5.70. Martin won three poles.
Gordon admired the competition he received from Martin, who challenged for the championship despite a complete overhaul to his Roush Racing team during the offseason.
“I think Mark Martin is one of the hardest-driving individuals I’ve ever raced against,” Gordon said. “And one of the most intense drivers on and off the race track that you’ll ever find.
“That’s why I have so much respect for him and feel this year’s accomplishment is bigger than ever, because of having to race against Mark and coming down to the wire.”
Gordon picked up his first triumph of the season in the second race of the season at Rockingham, N.C., and picked off sporadic victories until reeling off four consecutive triumphs during July and August.
Included in the streak was his second victory in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning him the first of his two $1 million checks from RJR.
The second came with a Labor Day weekend triumph at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
It was the second straight season he earned a $1 million bonus with a September triumph at Darlington.
The Drivers In The Chase
Leading those chasing Gordon and Martin all season was Dale Jarrett, who drove Robert Yates’ Quality Care Ford to third in points on the strength of three victories and two poles. Among Jarrett’s triumphs was a $1 million No Bull bonus victory at Talladega Superspeedway. Jarrett posted 19 top fives and 22 top 10s.
Rusty Wallace was a contender all season, but did not win until Phoenix late in the season.
Wallace posted 15 top fives and 21 top 10s and collected four pole positions. Both Wallace and new teammate Jeremy Mayfield benefited from the new two-car Penske South arrangement. Mayfield posted the first top-10 points finish of his career, ending up seventh.
Mayfield claimed his first Winston Cup victory at Pocono Raceway and collected 12 top fives and 16 top 10s. Mayfield also picked up a pole. Both drivers wheeled Ford Tauruses.
Martin’s teammate at Roush Racing, Jeff Burton, rebounded from a slow start to come home fifth in points, picking up a pair of victories in his Exide Ford and amassing 18 top fives and 23 top-10 finishes.
Bobby Labonte waved the Pontiac Grand Prix banner proudly, posting a pair of victories en route to a sixth-place points finish. Labonte’s effort was the best by a single-car team.
However, next season, Labonte gets Tony Stewart as a teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing.
After 19 years of trying, Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. His dramatic victory set the tone for NASCAR’s 50th anniversary celebration, but was his only triumph of the season.
He finished eighth in points and posted only five top-five finishes and 13 top-10 efforts.
The always consistent Terry Labonte soldiered his way to ninth in points, driving his Chevrolet to a single victory, five top fives and 15 top-10 finishes.
Bobby Hamilton, in his first year with Morgan-McClure Motorsports, came on strong at the end of the year to nip John Andretti and Ken Schrader for 10th.
Hamilton picked up a dominant victory at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in the spring and added three top fives and eight top-10 efforts.
Ricky Rudd was the only other driver to pick up a victory as the heady veteran extended his winning streak to 16 seasons with an inhuman performance at Martinsville in September. On an unseasonably hot day, Rudd weathered a failed cooling system in his car and despite having a relief driver standing by, finished the race.
Rudd suffered several minor bums and received oxygen in victory lane.
“I almost got out of the car in the last 100 laps,” Rudd said. “But there was no way I could give it up, I just bad such a great car.”
In his first season driving the MB Motorsports Pontiacs, Ernie Irvan appeared headed to a top-10 points finish, but after injuring his neck at Talladega, missed the final three races of the year. Nonetheless, he added 11 top 10s to his three poles. John Andretti didn’t visit victory lane, but won a pole and posted 10 top 10s in his first season driving for Petty Enterprises.
Schrader and Johnny Benson were the only other drivers to post as many as 10 top-10 efforts.
Despite an erratic season Kenny Irwin Jr. held off Kevin Lepage, who started the season with LJ Racing and finished it with Roush Racing, to take rookie honors. Steve Park and Jerry Nadeau were the other contenders for the award.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the NASCAR Busch Series championship and Ron Hornaday grabbed a second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title. Kevin Harvick picked up the Winston West crown and Mike Stefanik became a four-time Whelen Modified Tour champion.
Robert Huffman (Goody’s Dash), Steve Carlson (RE/MAX Challenge), Stefanik (Busch North) and Freddie Query (All Pro) also won NASCAR championships.