In 1995, the United States was very different compared to how it is now in 2023. Gas was $1.15 a gallon. Bill Clinton was in the middle of his first term as president of the United States. The internet was still very young and not everybody had a cell phone. It has been 28 years since 1995, and times have changed. There were no points system gimmicks and no forced excitement. Before the 1995 season, the one driver that was making the headlines was Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt won his seventh Winston Cup Series championship in 1994. This tied Richard Petty for the most championships in NASCAR history. But as the 1995 Winston Cup Series season rolled along, there was one certain driver that was making all the headlines. Last time on Championship Seasons, we discussed Kyle Larson’s impressive 2021 Cup Series Championship run. This is Championship Seasons: Jeff Gordon (1995).
Storylines Before the 1995 Season:
Even before the NASCAR Winston Cup Series started, there were major headlines brewing. A big story was the return of the Monte Carlo for Chevrolet. In 1994. The Monte Carlo’s predecessor, the Chevy Lumina, won 11 races throughout the entire season. Ford won 20 times in 1994. Teams such as Richard Childress Racing supposedly worked on the new Monte Carlo for almost two years before 1995. Dale Earnhardt was the biggest storyline overall before the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Earnhardt came out of 1994 with his seventh championship and fourth in the last five seasons. Many people were eyeing Earnhardt as the overall favorite to win the 1995 Winston Cup Series championship.
Not many analysts had eyes on a certain driver. That driver was Jeff Gordon. The young Hendrick Motorsports driver was coming into 1995 after winning two crown jewel events in 1994. Gordon won his first Cup Series race in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600 in late May. Gordon followed that win up by winning the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August. Once Gordon had won at Indianapolis, the team felt that they could do anything. Even win a championship when nobody believed in them.
The Early Portions of the Season:
The season started in mid-February with the Daytona 500. The race saw Gordon lead a portion of the race but would fall after a problem with a pit stop. Gordon would finish 22nd in the 1995 Daytona 500. The Rainbow Warriors would look ahead to the next race at Rockingham. They never looked back from the drop of the green flag. Gordon would lead 329 of the 400 laps of the event to secure his first win of the season. Two races later, in Atlanta, would be Gordon’s next trip to victory lane. After a late race restart, Bobby Labonte would have a shot to get the best of Gordon. But to no avail. Jeff Gordon would go on to win at Atlanta for the first time in his career. This was his second win in three races.
After a rough race in Darlington, the team had their sights set on Bristol. It wouldn’t take long for the Rainbow Warriors to start winning again. The #24 team helped Gordon lead 185 of the 500 laps at Bristol en route to his third victory of the season. This would be the first of five straight Top-5 finishes for Gordon. It wasn’t until Charlotte at the Coca-Cola 600 that the #24 finally hit a brick wall. Early in the race, Gordon would have the entire right-front wheel fall off the car. That forced the #24 team behind the wall, resulting in a 33rd place finish. After Charlotte, Gordon would go on to finish in the Top-2 in four of the next six races, which included two wins. Those two wins came in back-to-back races at Daytona and New Hampshire.
Clinching the Championship:
Up to this point of the season, the halfway point of the season, Gordon has a 40-point lead over Sterling Marlin. The #24 team and Jeff Gordon would not look back. After New Hampshire, Gordon would go on to finish inside the Top-10 in 11 consecutive races. Those numbers are almost unheard of in the modern era of NASCAR. Those Top-10 finishes included two wins in September at Darlington, and Dover. After the 27th event of the season, North Wilkesboro, Gordon would hold a commanding lead over Dale Earnhardt in the points by more than 300 points. Things weren’t looking so good for Earnhardt in their quest for an eighth Winston Cup Series Championship. During the next race, Charlotte and Gordon would have engine issues early in the event. He would finish in 30th as Earnhardt cut into Gordon’s point lead.
The possibility for Earnhardt was there to steal the championship from Gordon. After the 29th event of the season, Rockingham, Gordon’s point lead was down to 162 points over Earnhardt. It was apparent that this championship would come down to the final races. After the 30th race, Phoenix Gordon would hold a solid 147-point lead heading into Atlanta. All Gordon had to do at Atlanta was finish 41st or better. At Atlanta, Gordon would clinch the championship in the middle of a green flag pit cycle due to leading a lap. This was Gordon’s first title in only his third season of full-time Winston Cup Racing. The young kid originally from California was now a Winston Cup Series Champion. This was just the beginning for Jeff Gordon and the Rainbow Warriors.
The Start of a Dynasty:
Nobody expected Jeff Gordon and the Rainbow Warriors to have the season that they did. Jeff Gordon finished the 1995 season with seven wins, 23 Top-10 Finishes, 17 Top-5 finishes, an average finish of 9.52, and only three DNFs on the season. This was the tone for the future of the #24 team and Hendrick Motorsports. This was the start of a dynasty, not only for the #24 team but for Hendrick Motorsports. As of 2023, Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR’s most successful team. This championship for Jeff Gordon was the first for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick now has 14 championships to their name as a team. The 1995 season was just the beginning. The beginning of a legendary career for Jeff Gordon.
The funny thing about all this is that 1995 is not Jeff Gordon’s most impressive championship run. The 1995 Championship Season by Jeff Gordon showed the entire Winston Cup field that they were going to be a force for years to come. The rainbow warriors were here. It was their time. Jeff Gordon, the Rainbow Warriors, and Hendrick Motorsports were here to terrorize the Winston Cup field.
