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Return to No. 1

Jeff Gordon and his Rainbow Warriors are ready to pass last year's troubles.

By KEVIN KELLY

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2001

DAYTONA BEACH -- The metal tool box parked behind pit wall, where he watched every Winston Cup race last season, was at times the loneliest seat at the track for Robbie Loomis.

"When you're sitting on top of that pit box and Jeff Gordon is running bad during a race," said Loomis, crew chief for the three-time Winston Cup champion, "there's no feeling in the world that's going to make you feel like that."

Who could blame Loomis for being uncomfortable in the captain's chair?

After all, he was hired 10 months after Ray Evernham resigned as crew chief from Hendrick Motorsports. Evernham guided Gordon to 47 of his 52 wins and all three Winston Cup titles before leaving in 1999 to spearhead Dodge's return.

"I'm not so proud of the job that I did coming in here," said Loomis, who replaced interim crew chief Brian Whitesell in December '99. "There were times when I needed to step up, be a little bit stronger, fight on some different issues and stuff. ... I spent more time tip-toeing than I did making decisions."

The tiptoeing is over.

Practices begin today and qualifying is Saturday for the Daytona 500 at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

Gordon, who finished ninth in the standings last season, has won NASCAR's season opener twice in the past four years. He is encouraged by a strong finish to an up-and-down 2000 season that featured his new crew chief and a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo body style.

"I tell you what, we overcame a lot of adversity," said Gordon, whose most recent championship came in '98. "I think that when you get through a season like we had last year, it just makes you stronger."

Said Loomis: "We're not looking for perfection. We're just looking for improvement."

Gordon's final place in the standings was his worst since 14th during his rookie season of '93. His three wins ended a streak of five years in which he won seven or more races. He finished 23rd or worse in nine races.

Loomis and Gordon accept the blame equally.

But it is now, months after last season's final race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, that they conclude chemistry took longer than anticipated.

"We eventually got to where we could be open when I learned that he didn't agree with me by the look on his face," Loomis said. "Then I could say, "What do you think?' And then he would tell me and we could come to a medium ground."

Trying to pinpoint that precise moment of clarity is difficult for both.

"It's funny how things just started to click," Gordon said. "Things really started to click between Robbie and myself and just the whole team the way they were jelling at the racetrack."

The numbers suggest fortunes turned the first week of September.

Days after a 23rd-place finish in the August night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, his fourth straight finish of 23rd or worse, Gordon qualified 10th for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

NASCAR's oldest speedway had been a Gordon stronghold -- he won four straight Southern 500s from 1995-98 -- but it was a positive sign.

The 29-year-old finished fourth at Darlington and finished the season with nine top-nine finishes in the last 10 races, including a victory at Richmond the weekend after the Southern 500.

"I feel like we certainly turned a corner if you look at the end of last year," Gordon said. "I think we're a far better team today because of that year we had."

With more than 12 months together and a year with the new Monte Carlo, both driver and crew chief think a return to prominence, even a fourth championship for the No. 24 Chevrolet, is possible.

"I think we're going to be a lot better than we were last year, and with that I feel like we should have a shot," Gordon said. "I think our goal is to keep the DNFs (did not finish) down like we did last year but get the performance up. We just didn't perform. We know that. We didn't run good enough to win races and so we didn't."

Daytona would be a good place to start.

Gordon has won four races at the track, including the '97 and '99 Daytona 500s. He finished 34th in last year's 500 and 10th in the Pepsi 400 in July at the track.

"We're definitely not going to start this season out the way we did last season," Gordon said. "I promise that."

Speedweek schedule

Events at Daytona International Speedway:

f,TODAY: Winston Cup, ARCA, Goody's Dash and IROC practice.

SATURDAY: Winston Cup pole qualifying, Goody's Dash 200, Winston Cup Bud Shootout, ARCA and IROC practice.

SUNDAY: Winston Cup Bud Shootout, ARCA 200.

MONDAY: Winston Cup, Craftsman Trucks, IROC practice; Winston Cup second-round qualifying.

TUESDAY: Winston Cup, Busch Grand National practice; Craftsman Trucks qualifying.

WEDNESDAY: Busch Grand National qualifying; second-round Craftsman Trucks qualifying; Winston Cup, IROC practice.

THURSDAY: Winston Cup Gatorade 125-mile qualifying races; BGN practice/second-round qualifying; IROC practice.

FEB. 16: Craftsman Trucks Daytona 250, IROC race, Winston Cup, BGN practice.

FEB. 17: Busch Grand National NAPA 300; Winston Cup practice.

FEB. 18: Winston Cup Daytona 500.

TICKET INFORMATION: Call (904) 253-7223 or check http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com.

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