Weekend That Was: PIR

When he made the first start of his Cup racing career at the 1992 Hooters 500 in Atlanta, Jeff Gordon finished an inauspicious 31st.

Fifteen years later, it seems fitting that Gordon made that first start in one of the more memorable races in NASCAR history. In what was Richard Petty's final race -- another seemingly fitting subplot, in retrospect -- five drivers began the day with a chance to claim that season's points championship, depending on what happened.

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It eventually came down to two -- Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott. Kulwicki emerged as the points champion even as he finished second in the race to Elliott in what remains one of the closest battles ever for a points championship.

That day, Gordon was an afterthought. So was, to a large extent, Dale Earnhardt.

Despite the fact that he led 44 laps -- more than everyone but Kulwicki, Elliott and a relatively young Mark Martin -- Earnhardt eventually struggled to a 26th-place finish.

Of course, Earnhardt was at the time in the middle of one of the most prolonged hot streaks in NASCAR history. While he won only one race that season and finished an uncharacteristic 12th in the points standings, it was the only season in a stretch of five in a row in which he failed to win at least four races and capture the points championship, as he was the sport's top driver in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994, respectively.

So Earnhardt already was a star. Who knew then that Gordon was destined to become one, too?

Oh, Rick Hendrick had an idea that big things were in store for Gordon. So did fellow car owner Jack Roush, who had attempted to sign Gordon before Hendrick Motorsports did the trick.

Roush had even told Gordon's stepfather, John Bickford, that he "thought the kid could be great." But Roush wouldn't agree to let Ray Evernham come on board as Gordon's crew chief in a Bickford-proposed package deal, so Gordon ended up with Hendrick instead.

Shortly after arriving at Hendrick, Evernham posted a checklist on a sign that would remain in place on the shop's main workroom floor for the next several years. It read:

FROM NOBODY TO UPSTART
FROM UPSTART TO CONTENDER
FROM CONTENDER TO WINNER
FROM WINNER TO CHAMPION
FROM CHAMPION TO DYNASTY

There were no victories for Gordon and Evernham in 1993, their first year together at the Cup level. But they did register two second-place and 11 top-10 finishes in 30 starts, followed by two wins and 14 top-10s in 1994. That essentially covered the first three items on Evernham's checklist for Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet.

By 1995, Gordon accomplished the fourth item on the list -- winning seven races and his first points championship at the tender age of 24. When he and Evernham followed with a second points championship in 1997, with a second-place finish in the 1996 season sandwiched in between, it could be argued that they had made a good start on the fifth and final goal.

Yet Earnhardt at first professed not to be impressed. When Gordon wept openly at the Cup awards banquet after picking up his second points championship, Earnhardt was spotted smirking in the crowd. (Continued)