By The Commish

As the NASCAR series rolled into Daytona in February 1993, the garage was abuzz with news. The hottest topic for discussion was aerodynamic changes; GM teams had been allowed to alter the nose, rear end and quarter panels of their cars for the upcoming season, and Ford representatives and drivers were screaming bloody murder. "They're ignorant," Pontiac driver Rusty Wallace said of the complaints by the Ford teams. "They're just crying because they got caught with their pants down. The GM teams simply worked harder over the winter. The aero changes don't have any impact."

At the same time, personnel issues were on many people’s minds. Alan Kulwicki had just won one of the closest championships of all time. Could he repeat? Could Dale Earnhardt rebound after a disappointing season? Would Al Unser Jr, driving for Rick Hendrick at Daytona, commit to stock cars full time? Would Steve Kinser make a successful transition from sprint cars to closed fenders? Would Felix Sabates have to pay Kyle Petty a million dollars for winning a race? And would the seventeen teams with new crew chiefs— almost half the field— find chemistry and success?

In this environment, the 2003 Rookie of the Year battle was a very low-key story. Of the three candidates, Bobby Labonte at Bill Davis Racing and Kenny Wallace at SABCO were expected to be the strongest, both because of their own experience and their more successful brothers’ mentoring. "I entirely expect to win the whole deal," said Wallace, 29, sixth in the 1992 Grand National standings with a win and 15 top-10 finishes. "The only thing that bothers me is that there have been a lot of rookies who won races but not the title; I'll have to work on that."

And then there was 21 year-old Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports. In December testing at Daytona, Gordon had shown promise; he had been eighth fastest, but that was with the old bodies on the car. Coming into Speed Weeks, he was good but not outstanding, and the consensus feeling was that his twelfth-place finish on Pole Day would be the highlight of his week, and an impressive debut for a rookie.

The consensus, of course, was wrong. Gordon took the lead in Thursday’s first Twin 125 race with an inside move on Bill Elliott on the 22nd lap and never again was passed. "I was waiting for Elliott or [Kyle] Petty to slingshot past me, but it never happened,” he told the press. “I really didn't think we'd win. I thought going down the back straightaway that Bill had me. I had to do a little bit of blocking and it worked.”

"All week, I've been practicing my drafting techniques behind and in front of Earnhardt," Gordon said. "That's Mr. Dale Earnhardt, one of my childhood heroes. Now, I win this 125-mile qualifier. I kept looking in my mirror, wondering if they would blow past me on the final lap. They didn't. Unbelievable! Now I'll start beside Earnhardt in the Daytona 500. I won't sleep a wink Saturday night. This is beyond my wildest dreams. I'm sure racing fans are asking, 'Jeff Who?' I don't blame them. It's as amazing to me as to anyone at this speedway."

Earnhardt, winner of the second Twin 125, gave some credit to the rookie surprise. His blunt assessment: "That Gordon boy moves good around the track. Doesn’t move around the racetrack and make dumb moves. But Sunday's a whole different show." Richard Petty, meanwhile, was more effusive about what he’d seen. "He's got a lot of talent," Petty said, "and don't bet even a Confederate dollar that Jeff won't be running abreast of Winston Cup's best drivers for a long, long time." Added Gordon teammate and sixth-place finisher Ricky Rudd: "He's as good as just about anybody out here on our circuit right now. He doesn't get rattled; he's got talent." Gordon himself downplayed his achievement. "I just want to be there at the end, and make sure those other guys don't get out of sight," he said.

The weekend didn’t get easier for the young Hoosier after the Twins. "My life really changed in about a two-hour period on Thursday," said Gordon. "People kept asking me how I was going to handle the success, and I guess I handled it by getting sick. I've been feeling bad the last couple of weeks, and it really hit me Friday. I felt like I was ready to die after practice." Because of a virus, Gordon canceled autograph sessions Friday night and went to bed at 6 p.m. He slept 12 hours before going to the track early Saturday morning to spot for Ricky Craven in the Goody's 300 Busch Grand National race.

Under orders to run a conservative race in Sunday’s 500-- the first priority being to gain laps and experience and the second to avoid rookie mistakes-- Gordon instead went to the front and raced to stay there. "I wanted to wait until two (laps) to go, and then have [Dale] Jarrett and I pull out and go by Earnhardt," Gordon said. "But I knew if I could stay with Earnhardt, we could pull away. I didn't come (here) to help Earnhardt win the 500, but nine times out of 10 if you go with Earnhardt, you're going to be better off. I knew that Dale Jarrett was wanting to go but I was going to wait until there were two laps. When he went, that messed up my plans. When he pulled even with Earnhardt's car, I had to make a decision. Nine out of 10 times, the right one would be to go with Dale. It didn't work out this time, but it was one heck of a day. I'm ecstatic. It's just unbelievable. It's a dream come true just finishing in the top five of our first Daytona 500. What an unbelievable day."

Earnhardt, no slouch when it came to evaluating talent, was impressed with the fifth-place finisher. Gordon's performance on track earned the respect of the five-time champion. "I've never seen anyone this good at this age in all the years I was a driver," Earnhardt said. "His talent and his feel for a race car, he will be good wherever he goes. He is going to do great. He will probably win his rookie year as talented as he is. Jeff has raced all of his life, has worked hard and is dedicated to the sport. He has his priorities in the right order. Rick Hendrick was smart for putting him in the race car."

"It will be a week I'll never forget," Gordon concluded. "This is going to be hard for me to top. Everybody is going to be expecting this every weekend." Added Rick Hendrick, Gordon's car owner, "I think we have a lot of good years to come with this guy." Prophetic words, indeed.

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