Daytona 500 2000 - Daily Dish: Gordon's day goes up in smoke

Daily Dish: Gordon's day goes up in smoke
by Ron Buck, ESPN.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- This wasn't the way Jeff Gordon envisioned the start to his career's new era. In fact, it reminded most of the way he limped home in his last one.

Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet was the first casualty in Sunday's 42nd running of the Daytona 500 and wound up 34th. On lap 29, the two-time winner and defending champion of the Great American Race was forced behind the wall for five laps when an oil line fitting broke. While his crew did their best damage control and got him back out on the track, his hopes were basically over less than 100 miles into the race.


	Jeff Gordon's day was over when an oil line fitting broke and forced him behind the wall less than 100 miles into the Daytona 500.

Gordon, who had seven DNFs to go along with seven wins in 1999, kept pace with the field after his mechanic problems. But despite not dropping another lap behind, he was never a factor after falling so far off the pace so early. Gordon said even without the part breaking, however, he doubted he would have been able to break up Ford's party on this day.

"I couldn't run with those Fords," Gordon said. "I was making some gains. I think we would have been able to get up to about fifth or sixth, but I think that's about it. It's hard to be happy with a performance based on the results we had today, but we weren't bad. We just didn't have anything for those Fords."

The Daytona 500 was Gordon's first race with new crew chief Robbie Loomis. It was also the 28-year-old's first with a retooled pit crew, after losing most of his Rainbow Warriors to Sunday's winner Dale Jarrett.

The frustrating day was just the latest in a string of bad runs, or bad luck, or both, since longtime crew chief Ray Evernham left with eight races remaining in the '99 season. After winning the two races immediately following Evernham's departure, Gordon hasn't finished better than 10th in his past seven races.

"We gave it our best effort while we were out there," Gordon said. "I think we'll be in good shape when we get to Rockingham (next week)."

$1 million fan
Melissa Brown wanted to be a millionaire. Dale Jarrett made her dream come true.

As part of a promotion, Brown was selected in a random drawing to win $1 million if Jarrett won the race.

Jarrett won and Brown thought she knew the reason why.

Her brother-in-law died in a plane crash near their hometown of Pittsburgh in 1994.

"We prayed to him before we came here this morning," Brown said. "We've been through some hard times financially. I think he was looking over us."

With the million in the bank, Brown and her husband, Bill, can likely quit one of the three jobs they hold between them. Then, more plans.

"Realistically, we'll probably save half for retirement," Brown said. "We'll invest in real estate, buy a new house, maybe have a baby."

"Dale is the baby's name," Bill Brown said. "And if it's a girl, it's Dalette."

Stewart's crew member injured
A member on Tony Stewart's crew broke his left leg when Stewart clipped him as he exited the pit.

Stewart ran into tire changer Mike Lingerfelt as Lingerfelt tried to move a tire out of pit road during a stop on lap 156.

The 23-year-old crewman from Marietta, S.C., laid on the ground for about a minute while fellow crew members huddled over him. He was helped to an ambulance and was taken to Halifax Medical Center for surgery.

It's been an eventful week for the Stewart crew. Earlier this week, NASCAR fined mechanic Jason Shapiro $2,000 for his role in breaking up a scuffle in the garage between Stewart and Robby Gordon.

Bodine still in ICU
Geoffrey Bodine remained in the intensive care unit in serious but stable condition Sunday, two days after his fiery wreck in the Daytona 250 truck race.

He broke his wrist, ankle and vertebrae, and also got a concussion when his flaming truck flipped and cartwheeled wildly down the track after slamming into the wall. Doctors would not speculate how long he would remain in the hospital.

A fan whose arm was broken by flying debris from the wreck was discharged Sunday morning and attended the Daytona 500, courtesy of the track.

"We took care of him," publicity director Kathy Catron said.

Marcis' streak officially over
After failing to qualify, Dave Marcis was unsuccessful in his attempt to find another ride, putting an official end to his record string of 32 consecutive races.

The longest current streak now belongs to Darrell Waltrip, who started his 28th and final Daytona 500 on Sunday. Waltrip will retire after this season. He finished 32nd in the race.

Metcalf's final scorecard
Morris Metcalf, NASCAR's chief scorer since 1955, scored his last race and did it in unusual style. At the midpoint, he turned his official duties over to his successor, Tim Hudson, previously the chief scorer for the Busch Grand National series.

Metcalf's first race was at the old Charlotte Speedway on Wilkinson Boulevard in September 1955, when he succeeded Joe Epton. Before today, there has only been one change in scorers in NASCAR's 52-year history.

Metcalf claims to be "73 1/2" and was honored in the pre-race drivers' meeting. His son, Lee, and grandson, Trevor, attended the race but his wife was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the birth of their fourth granddaughter.

Pit stops ...
New Busch series car owner Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the honorary starter. ... Bobby Hamilton was the first driver out of the race. He left after lap 74 with a broken valve. ... Jarrett became the ninth driver to win the Daytona 500 starting from the pole position. ... Matt Kenseth finished 10th and was the top rookie finisher. Rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in 13th. ... On the day he nearly won the race, Johnny Benson signed on with a new sponsor for 2000, Lycos Inc. ... Benson drove one of nine Pontiacs in the race, the most that manufacturer has fielded since 1991.

ESPN.com news services contributed to this report.

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