Look who’s back

Monday, March 5, 2001 | 10:02 a.m.

NASCAR doesn't have to look very far to find the driver to carry its torch in the wake of the death of its grandest superstar, Dale Earnhardt.

He already has been driving -- and winning races -- since 1993.

Jeff Gordon added to his own legend Sunday by winning the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was the 29-year-old's 53rd career victory and it marked the fifth time in his career that Gordon has captured one of the Winston Cup Series' million-dollar races.

But Gordon doesn't seem interested in trying to fill the void left by the death of Earnhardt, who was killed in a last-lap accident during the Daytona 500 two weeks ago.

He just wants to keep winning races.

"I don't really look at it that way," Gordon said. "I believe the guy that carries the torch ... it's not just one person's job. Yeah, certain guys can come out of their shells, certain guys can step up but to me, I look at what made Richard Petty so popular: It had to do with his personality, the way he carried himself, and it also had a lot to do with his dominance on the racetrack. The same with Dale Earnhardt.

"If we have many more runs like we had today ... it's hard for anybody to dominate this season, but that will make you stand out among the rest. But I'm not looking to take anyone's place, I'm not looking to be the guy with the torch, I'm just looking to go out there and do my job and win races and hopefully win championships."

Which is exactly how Earnhardt gained legendary status among the NASCAR faithful.

Sunday's run was reminiscent of Gordon's last championship season, in 1998, when he dominated the circuit with 13 wins.

Gordon was not much of a factor early in the race. He made a pivotal decision to take on four tires during the final pit stop, battled his way up into the top 10 in the latter stages of the race and dominated in the closing laps.

Gordon took the lead for the first time in the race (from Sterling Marlin) on lap 225, gave up the lead when he pitted on lap 238, and regained it 10 laps later when race leader Matt Kenseth went to the pits.

Gordon held off eventual runner-up Dale Jarrett over the final 20 laps and beat the 1999 Winston Cup champion to the finish by 1.477 seconds. Marlin finished third and was followed to the line by Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine.

As one of five drivers eligible for Winston's "No Bull Five" million-dollar bonus, Gordon's win was worth $1,369,602. It was the fourth time since the program's inception that Gordon won the million-dollar bonus; he also won $1 million in 1997 under the old "Winston Million" program.

Gordon's win in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet also ended Ford's -- and team owner Jack Roush's -- dominance in Las Vegas. Roush's Fords won the first three Winston Cup races at LVMS.

Jeff Burton, who had won the past two Winston Cup races here, dropped out of contention when he spun and hit the wall in Turn 2 on the second lap of the race.

"I really don't know (what happened)," Burton said. "I went into the corner -- it's the first couple of laps and I was going real easy -- and I got toward the middle of the corner and I wasn't on the gas or anything and it started coming around.

"I never could pull it back. We were going slow and it was a big pack; I do not have a clue what happened."

Jarrett, who scored his second top-10 finish of the season, said his Ford was too tight to catch Gordon in the closing laps.

"As soon as he got near me and we were near another car, whenever I went behind that car I just lost the front end and I was too tight from then on," Jarrett said.

"We were really good at the first of the race and then I got a set of tires that really spooked me. I was sideways doing everything to try to keep it from wrecking every lap. I wasn't sure if it was that set of tires or if the track was changing so we made an adjustment and it got too tight."

Marlin, who posted his third straight top-10 finish in the No. 40 Dodge and took over the series points lead, led the race two times for 34 laps but had nothing for Gordon toward the end.

"When Gordon got by me (for the lead on lap 225), we got so loose we couldn't drive it," Marlin said. "I was still a little too loose at the end and we couldn't run him down but we came back to the speeds we were running.

"We were a little tight at the start of the race, then we got good, then we got too loose. I couldn't touch the gas in (turns) three and four when Gordon got by me."

The race was hindered by six caution periods -- including three in the first 28 laps. After Burton's second-lap incident, Brett Bodine got into some oil on the track on lap 9 and hit the wall in Turn 4. At about the same time, Penske Racing teammates Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield made contact in Turn 2.

There were 20 lead changes among 13 drivers in the race. Mark Martin, who won the inaugural race in 1998, led twice for 49 laps. Todd Bodine, who won Saturday's Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race, led three times for 44 laps and Jarrett led twice for 42 laps.