Gordon celebrates 30th on Saturday, wins again at Brickyard on Sunday

Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jeff Gordon said that winning his third Brickyard 400 was every bit as sweet as his first victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

His fellow NASCAR Winston Cup competitors, however, are growing weary of seeing the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet dominate the series' second most prestigious race.

"We're getting tired of it," Sterling Marlin said only half-jokingly after finishing second to Gordon in Sunday's eighth running of the Brickyard 400.

Gordon grabbed the lead from Marlin with 25 laps remaining and held off the No. 40 Dodge for his fourth victory of the season before a crowd of nearly 300,000.

"Three Brickyard 400s -- wow," said Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro, Ind. "It's just amazing being a one-time winner of this event. I dreamed as a kid to be like (Indy 500 winners) A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser and Al Unser.

"To be able to come here and compete is a thrill. I never dreamed it would be in a stock car and I certainly never thought I would win the main event three times."

Gordon took advantage of a poor restart by Marlin following the race's sixth caution period to snatch the lead. For Marlin, who led three times for 25 laps, it continued a history this season of losing late race leads on restarts.

"We've been close all year," said Marlin, who scored his sixth top-five finish of the season. "For some reason ... we have a lot of trouble on restarts."

Gordon, who started 27th, and Marlin were followed to the finish line by Johnny Benson, Rusty Wallace and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch -- the highest-finishing rookie in the race. Ward Burton, Steve Park, Bill Elliott, Ricky Craven and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Gordon, who turned 30 on Saturday, said he didn't think he had a car that was capable of winning during the first quarter of the race.

"I think I got a few new gray hairs after today," the Winston Cup points leader said. "At the beginning, (the car's setup) was way off (but) I think it was more being in traffic rather than being way off.

"I know I was worrying the heck out of my crew chief because I was complaining an awful lot (but) on the final pit stop we took on only two tires and we were on rails after that."

And, unlike Marlin's Dodge, Gordon had his car dialed in on each of the last two restarts.

"My car was really good on restarts," Gordon said. "I made a few moves earlier in the day (on restarts).

"I knocked the grill in because I was right on (Marlin on the final restart). He blocked me on the inside and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but I said, 'hey, these are the moves you have to make to win the Brickyard 400.' "

Gordon, who earned $428,452 from the $6.75 million purse, won with an average speed of 130.790 mph in a race that was slowed by seven caution periods. There were 18 lead changes among 12 drivers.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.