JEFF GORDON TAMES
"THE LADY IN BLACK"
Darlington, SC - He looked like the Jeff Gordon of the '90's, taking the lead and never looking back as he won the Mountain Dew Southern 500. Although the race was delayed due to the persistent rain, there was nothing to hold back the #24 DuPont Chevrolet as Jeff went to victory lane for back to back wins. He has now moved to 2nd place in the points standings, only 91 in back of Sterling Marlin.
Because qualifying had been rained out, the starting field was set according to points. The race began under caution with Sterling Marlin, the current pints leader, in the front. NASCAR was being cautious due to the rain that had continued to fall all morning. Just as we thought the green flag would wave, the clouds squeezed out their final drops, and the race remained under caution. It only took a few more such laps to assure NASCAR that the rain was over and the track finally dry enough for the race to go green.
The crowd let out a resounding cheer as the cars came up to speed and roared down the front stretch! Mark Martin jumped to the front, but he couldn't hold the #6 Viagra Ford there. He was soon passed by Sterling Marlin in the #40 Coors Dodge. Sterling led the second most laps in the race, however, he finished 4th. He still maintains the lead in the points standings.
Ryan Newman had a strong car and battled valiantly trying to catch Jeff Gordon. The #12 Alltel Ford just didn't have enough to give and Ryan finished the race in 2nd place, moving him to 11th in the standings.
Bobby Labonte made an impressive drive to the front, getting as high as 3rd, but the car went away from him and he finished 15th. Jimmie Johnson had stayed up in the top 5 all day until late in the race when a cut valve stem caused a tire to lose it's lining. After he pitted, he was able to battle his way back to finish 9th. His misfortune caused him to drop to 5th in points. Rusty Wallace had also been running up front for most of the race, but struggled at the end and slipped from 4th to finish back in 22nd. He was able to maintain his 6th place position in the standings.
The fast paced race was exciting and many drivers got their "Darlington Stripe" from the track
"too tough to tame". Did you enjoy the race as much as we did? Send us an e-mail with your
feelings about how the race started and finished!
Article by S. Kipple
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