RELATED: Complete coverage of Gordon's final race
A look at Jeff Gordon's four NASCAR premier series championship seasons:
1995
In just his third full season in the series, back-to-back victories at Daytona and New Hampshire in July enabled Gordon to catch and pass Sterling Marlin and take the points lead, which he held for the remainder of the season … Led by as much as 309 points during season's second half, under the old points system … Finished 32nd in season-ending race at Atlanta Motor Speedway to clinch the title, edging Dale Earnhardt by 34 points … A year after scoring his first two NASCAR premier series wins, Gordon led the series with seven victories … also had 17 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes, as well as career-best eight poles.
1997
Opened the season with consecutive victories, winning his first Daytona 500 title and taking the checkered flag a week later at North Carolina Motor Speedway (whose name was later changed to Rockingham Speedway) to set the stage for an incredible 10-win season … A 35th-place finish in the annual night race at Bristol dropped Gordon to second in points and pushed Mark Martin into the top spot, but the No. 24 team rallied the following week as Gordon won at Darlington to re-take the points lead for the final time … A 17th-place finish at Atlanta sealed title No. 2 as he finished with a 14-point lead over Dale Jarrett … In addition to his 10 wins, Gordon finished the year with 22 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes.
1998
If winning 10 races in each of the previous two seasons was impressive, Gordon raised the bar higher in 1998, winding up in Victory Lane with 13 wins … It was the most victories since Richard Petty won 13 times in 1975 … Became just the seventh driver to win three or more championships … led the points standings for the final 18 weeks and clinched when he won at Rockingham, North Carolina, in the year's penultimate race … For good measure, he closed the season with a victory at Atlanta … Final points margin was a whopping 364 over Martin … A career-best 26 top-five finishes, including a modern-day record 17 straight.
2001
Victories came at Las Vegas, Dover, Michigan, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Kansas … The Michigan victory put him in the points lead, and as was often the case, no one could knock Gordon off the top spot … Led the points for the final 23 weeks of the season … Once again clinched the title before the season's final race, thanks to a sixth-place result at Atlanta … Fifteenth the following week at Loudon for an event rescheduled due to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, Gordon closed the year with a 344-point lead on second-place Tony Stewart … It was Gordon's first, and only, title with crew chief Robbie Loomis.