Jeff Gordon hits million-dollar jackpot

It was Gordon's first win of the season, but looked a lot like the days when he won three NASCAR Winston Cup championships in the 1990s. Those were the days when Gordon and his crew chief at the time, Ray Evernham, would confound the competition by laying back throughout the race, then making a charge to victory at the end.

That's what happened in Sunday's 267-lap race at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway as Gordon and his crew used a two-tyre pit stop on lap 237 and was out of the pits in 15 seconds. That was enough to give him the lead once the pit stop cycle was completed.

Gordon won the 53rd race of his Winston Cup career when he took the lead 19 laps from the finish when Matt Kenseth pitted. He was able to pull away easily for a 1.477-second victory over Dale Jarrett, and earn an additional US$1 million bonus from series sponsor R.J. Reynolds as part of the Winston 'No Bull 5' promotion. The win made Chevrolet 'three-for-three' in the series so far.

Sterling Marlin's Dodge finished third followed by Johnny Benson's Pontiac and Todd Bodine's Ford, meaning all four of NASCAR's marques were represented in the top five.

"It was an incredible day that we came from where we did," said Gordon, who started 24th. "I'm sure a lot of guys are scratching their heads right now, going, `Where in the world did Jeff Gordon come from? He was struck back there in 18th for the first half of the race.' We really were not very good. I love races like that, where you get better as the day goes on and you just pick away at it.

"All of a sudden, you look around and go, `I'm leading this thing - I can't believe it.' But if I could win a race by leading every lap, I'd like that too."

In addition to winning the US$1million bonus, he also collected US$389,802 for the victory. He won at an average speed of 135.377 miles per hour and ended Roush Racing's three-race win streak at LVMS. But more importantly, it may have signaled that after two non-title seasons, Gordon is ready to reclaim his place as the dominant driver in NASCAR Winston Cup racing.

"It looks like they are pretty much back," Jarrett said. "They started showing that last year. They have a good race team and I'm sure they will be right in the battle for the championship."

There were 20 lead changes among 13 drivers. Gordon did not lead a lap until lap 225, when he took the lead away from Marlin. He led the next 12 laps before making his final pit stop.

Jeff Burton, who had won this race the past two years, crashed in the second turn on the second lap and that ended his chances at winning it three years in a row. His Roush team mate Mark Martin was the leader at the halfway point of the race - lap 134 - before Bill Elliott passed Martin for the lead on lap 145.

Marlin and Jerry Nadeau both led substantial portions of the race during the final half of the event before Gordon's Chevrolet was at its best when it mattered most at the end of the race.

Chevrolet's start to the 2001 season has the Ford drivers hoping for a little help from NASCAR on the rules.

"We just need a little help on the front end where we can get our car a little bit better balanced," Jarrett said. "We don't need the 2-inches that Chevrolet got last year, but a little bit of help would be nice. I'm sure NASCAR will evaluate everything to where every car make can get into victory lane."

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