Top 30 Memories from 26 Years of Race Weekends at Atlanta Motor Speedway
#24: Jeff Gordon’s Busch Series Win and first Cup start in 1992
Non-NASCAR fans may not have heard of most of the drivers… but everybody knows who Jeff Gordon is. His name will always be remembered along with Petty, Earnhardt, Allison and many others. First, let the record show that I am not a Jeff Gordon fan... but I do have an appreciation for how good a driver he is and was. The first time I saw him race was in November of 1992, in the Busch Series (think triple-A league of NASCAR) race when he drove the #1 Baby Ruth Ford. Its too bad he didn't have a picture of Bill Murray from Caddyshack or Sloth and Chunk from Goonies on the car... that would've been cool. I remember him dominating the race, and people talking before the race about how he could be the next star. I was only twelve, but I was able to see that he was in a class by himself that day. Our infield spot is right at the entrance to turn 3 (was actually turn 1 at the time under the old track configuration) and you can tell by looking at how they enter the corner, how they deal with the bumps on the track whether they are going to have a fast lap or not. He was solid, and this was before he ever got in the best equipment in the sport at Hendrick Motorsports. He won the race, the second and last of his Busch Series victories before he went to Cup full time.
The next day, Jeff Gordon made his Cup Series debut in what turned out to be one of the greatest and most historically significant races in NASCAR history, if not the greatest. Being able to say I was at Jeff Gordon’s first race is kinda cool… but that little piece of history was nothing compared to what else we would see that day.
Stay tuned.
Non-NASCAR fans may not have heard of most of the drivers… but everybody knows who Jeff Gordon is. His name will always be remembered along with Petty, Earnhardt, Allison and many others. First, let the record show that I am not a Jeff Gordon fan... but I do have an appreciation for how good a driver he is and was. The first time I saw him race was in November of 1992, in the Busch Series (think triple-A league of NASCAR) race when he drove the #1 Baby Ruth Ford. Its too bad he didn't have a picture of Bill Murray from Caddyshack or Sloth and Chunk from Goonies on the car... that would've been cool. I remember him dominating the race, and people talking before the race about how he could be the next star. I was only twelve, but I was able to see that he was in a class by himself that day. Our infield spot is right at the entrance to turn 3 (was actually turn 1 at the time under the old track configuration) and you can tell by looking at how they enter the corner, how they deal with the bumps on the track whether they are going to have a fast lap or not. He was solid, and this was before he ever got in the best equipment in the sport at Hendrick Motorsports. He won the race, the second and last of his Busch Series victories before he went to Cup full time.
The next day, Jeff Gordon made his Cup Series debut in what turned out to be one of the greatest and most historically significant races in NASCAR history, if not the greatest. Being able to say I was at Jeff Gordon’s first race is kinda cool… but that little piece of history was nothing compared to what else we would see that day.
Stay tuned.
I can't believe I found this pic on the web.. can't find a name to give credit but thank you to whoever posted this on the Forzamotorsports.net forum
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