The Greatest Season Ever: Jeff Gordon’s 1998 NASCAR Championship (Part II)

Jeff Gordon had a magical year in 1998. (Photo: © 1998, Nigel Kinrade
NKP)

LEANDER, Texas – When the 1998 NASCAR Cup Series season reached its halfway point, Jeff Gordon tallied four wins, 11 top fives, 12 top 10 results and five poles. Although Gordon was a bit off his incredible pace from 1997 during the early portions of 1998, the No. 24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet was merely getting started.

Gordon, whose likeness and unmistakable “Rainbow Warriors” paint scheme could be found in print publications and cereal boxes, was getting warmed up in 1998. Little did anyone, much less the 27-year-old Vallejo, California native, realize how the rest of the 1998 would be one for the history books.

As mentioned in Part I of this feature interview, NASCAR celebrated its 50th anniversary season in 1998. This was a significant milestone commemorated by a myriad of merchandise opportunities, heavy TV presence on multitudes of networks and a strong online presence.

Whether in Boston or Austin, Texas, chances are that Gordon inspired youngsters into pursuing a career in stock car racing. In some cases, the baseball mitts and hockey sticks were exchanged to be like Gordon in a stock car.

Regardless of the fans’ reception at almost every track except for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gordon blocked out the negativity and noise as a result of the successes that he and his No. 24 team attained.

Simply put, this was a season for the ages. Earning 13 wins, 26 top fives and 28 top-10s, Gordon’s 1998 championship and its statistics will long survive the test of time. Moreover, Gordon, crew chief Ray Evernham, and Hendrick Motorsports were on a league of their own with their dominance and execution.

During the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix race weekend at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, I caught up with Gordon to get his story, in his words. In the conclusion of this two-part interview, Gordon recalls the catalyst behind his sparkling 1998 championship season, winning the first nighttime Cup race at Daytona International Speedway, and his love of road courses.

Rob Tiongson : I got to ask you, though, your best buddy now, Rusty Wallace… he kind of lit a fire in you at Richmond, wouldn’t you say?

Jeff Gordon : For sure. Dd he wreck me (in that race)?

Tiongson : Yes.

Gordon and Wallace had quite the underrated rivalry in the 90s. (Photo: © 1998, Nigel Kinrade NKP)

Gordon : Of course! (laughs) Can’t forget my buddy Rusty. I think there are several moments that year that lit a fire. We just talked about with the Coke 600, that final practice, I think not winning the Daytona 500 with having such a strong car, that was one of them also.

And then this one with Rusty. I mean, Rusty and I had some great battles, but we were just on this roll where we were putting great runs together, had fast race cars, week in and week out. We had a few struggles along the way trying to understand, like you said, with the 5-and-5 rule.

But when when Rusty spun me at Richmond, I was so mad and I just wanted to make up for it in every way I possibly could, especially going head to head with Rusty from there on out. So, I had a vendetta against him probably the rest of my career.

He and I laugh about it now. We joke and we get along good. We were not getting along so well that at that time.

Rob Tiongson: Yeah, Rusty was saying to me (in 2020), he was supposed to be the anointed king of NASCAR, and you kind of ruined his plans.

Jeff Gordon: Exactly. And, I love that he shares and is open about that. I wasn’t necessarily planning any of this, right? I wanted to be the best driver I could be. I came along to Hendrick and Chevy at the right time and we were on a roll, got Ray Evernham as my crew chief and all the other things to go along with it.

And I didn’t know that Rusty had this grand plan that he was going to be the successor to the dominance that (Dale) Earnhardt had built before that and that he wanted to own the sport. And all of a sudden, this kid from California and this bright colored No. 24 car, Hendrick Motorsports, had a different plan in place.

Rob Tiongson: He certainly did, because you certainly drew the ire of the four teams the rest of that year. I got to ask a really tough question, though, because, of course, you got the four wins in a row during the summer, 18 top fives in a row. Something happened in New Hampshire that I kind of… I will say, pissed off Ray Evernham with “Tiregate.” What do you recall about “Tiregate?”

Undoubtedly, Gordon and his No. 24 team were the masters when it came to maximizing track position. (Photo: © 1998, Nigel Kinrade NKP)

Jeff Gordon: Oh my gosh. “It was just air, Jack! Just air!”

I think the No. 24 car had shown that in our very first win at Charlotte in 1994, where two tire stops and just getting track position was was really, really important. And I think Ray put a lot of energy into trying to understand how spending less time on pit road, whether there was no tires or just two tires, even at a track where most people said you absolutely had to take four, just playing with the air pressures in order to get the balance of the car right and get off pit road faster and ahead of others.

And that’s what we did that day. And it was a brilliant call, brilliant move. It was one that kind of set a trend for us to do more often, but really caught the attention of our competitors and and made them think there’s no way that we could possibly get beat on two tires. They must be doing something. They must be cheating. And that’s when the famous quote from Ray of “It was just air.”

Rob Tiongson: I remember that on RPM2night. He was so livid. I thought you handled it pretty well because you were just like, “I’m just here to drive the car. I’ll let Ray deal with all the politicking,” right?

Simply put, Gordon and his No. 24 team put on a performance for the ages in 1998. (Photo: © 1998, Nigel Kinrade NKP)

Jeff Gordon: Well, when you’re when you’re a crew chief and a team taking the car through inspection, you’re being criticized by your competitors.

The amount of hard work and respect that you have for putting great race cars out on the track and the integrity that comes along with it, when that’s tested at any time throughout our careers, even right now, some of the things going on, it lights a fire underneath you.

And it inspires you to want to go show your competitors just how good you are and and not that you have some trick up your sleeve.

Rob Tiongson: You guys didn’t you just had a great crew chief, a great pit crew and a pretty good driver along the way, too. So, hey…

Jeff Gordon: Everybody’s got to play their role in their part. Well, and when everybody does it well together at the same time, magical things happen.

Rob Tiongson: Like what happened in 1998. Oh, man, let me tell you, 1998, I thought one of the best things that happened that year was you becoming the first night time race winner at Daytona. What do you recall about when NASCAR was like, “Hey, guys, we’re going to have a nighttime race at this big track in Daytona and in October,” which I know was a tough month for you guys? How special was it all for you to win that race and also come over, overcome the monkey off your back in that moment?

The No. 24 of Gordon was sleek even under the track lights and moonlight. (Photo: © 1998, Nigel Kinrade
NKP)

Jeff Gordon: Yeah, I love the superspeedways. We were strong at superspeedways. Handling was a part of superspeedway racing back then. And I think that played into our hands a little bit better too. But I just felt like I had learned so much from Dale Earnhardt (with) the things that he had taught me on these superspeedways that everywhere we went to, we had a shot at winning it.

And that race was supposed to happen in July, but there were fires in Florida, so it got postponed to October. But it was a big deal. Back then, there were these moments like going to the Brickyard for the first time in 1994. Going to places like Kansas for the first time, or Fontana, Southern California and Texas.

Just like these moments that were big for the sport and broadening the appeal, I think putting lights up in the superspeedway was something nobody ever thought could happen or be done. And they did it.

It was a bold move, but everybody wanted to win that race and be a part of such a special event under the lights. So even though it didn’t happen in July, I’m happy that it happened in October and really happy that we won.

Rob Tiongson: I’ll tell you what, 13-year-old Rob watched that race. I was so happy in my house in Malden. And I was like, “Jeff won the race!” I was screaming and my parents were like, “Shut up! Go to sleep!”

Jeff Gordon: Well, thank you. You’ve always been a huge fan and been cheering us on for a long time, and we certainly appreciate it.

Rob Tiongson: Absolutely. I got one last question for you before we get to wrapping up. You were the road course king in 1998, right? How much did you wish that we had to other road courses in 1998, given how you and Ray unlocked this magic for the 24 cart road courses?

Jeff Gordon: Yeah, I love the road courses, even the street courses happening this year at Chicago. But being here at COTA, it is such a beautiful facility. I mean, F1 races here, IMSA raced here, (and) NASCAR races here. And I would have loved to have been here competing at this racetrack.

So I’m a little bit jealous of what these guys get to do here. I would think that it would be a track that I would have loved to have attacked. And as a team, we could have done well at. But I guess we’ll just never know.

Rob Tiongson: For sure. Well, Jeff, thank you so much, my friend. I really appreciate it.

Yes, Gordon was one of the original burnout experts. (Photo: © 1998, Nigel Kinrade NKP)

Jeff Gordon: Yeah, 1998 was special. All the top fives, the second place finishes and the 13 wins is something I’ll never forget. So I always appreciate you wanting wanting to relive it.

Rob Tiongson: Well, if you ever need a biographer for the greatest season of NASCAR history, I’m right here in Texas!

Jeff Gordon: He said it right there, folks! And when that moment comes, you’re my guy!

Editor’s Notes

Special thanks to Jeff Gordon for following through with our prior interview in January to talk about 1998! Also, thanks to Jon Edwards and Ashly Ennis for their kindness and support with this special story to commemorate NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season.

Lastly, this feature is dedicated to my parents, Virgilio and Elizabeth, who celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary, my late mentor, Steve Byrnes, a beloved motorsports TV journalist of TBS, TNN, CBS and FOX.