A revived Gordon wins second straight race

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) _ Suddenly, NASCAR faces a rejuvenated Jeff Gordon. <br><br>``I knew once they won one, they might be hard to beat,'' Dale Jarrett said Sunday after Gordon tied a record by

Monday, September 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) _ Suddenly, NASCAR faces a rejuvenated Jeff Gordon.

``I knew once they won one, they might be hard to beat,'' Dale Jarrett said Sunday after Gordon tied a record by winning his fifth Southern 500.

This was Gordon's second straight Winston Cup victory after going winless for 31 races.

Runner-up Ryan Newman said Gordon ``was the only guy I saw who didn't make a mess, didn't make a slip out there'' at Darlington Raceway.

Jimmie Johnson, who drives the No. 48 Chevy owned by Gordon, saw this coming all year long.

``When that light switch flips on, we're all in trouble,'' he said. ``I believe he's found the light switch.''

These Rainbow Warriors, Bill Elliott says, are ready to roll.

Gordon is ``always the man to beat. Past history tells you that,'' said Elliott, whose third-place finish was his best at Darlington since a victory in 1994. ``Jeff's coming up on a good stretch. Unless they have some bad luck, they'll be hard to beat.''

Gordon is almost about unstoppable at Darlington. The Southern 500 is one of NASCAR's most prized trophies, and his fifth win matches Cale Yarborough's mark at the 53-year-old track.

Gordon has also won a spring race at Darlington. His six victories there leave him behind only David Pearson (10) and the late Dale Earnhardt (nine).

``Isn't that awesome,'' said Gordon, smiling broadly. ``This is a special, special day.''

And perhaps another special championship season.

Seemingly locked into fifth place since July, Gordon moved to second in points the past two weeks. He's just 91 points behind leader Sterling Marlin in the chase for a second consecutive driver's title.

``We've got to keep the ball rolling,'' said Gordon, who has four driver titles since 1995. ``Last year, we had a fire in our eye when we were going to that championship, and we lost a little bit of that for a while. But we kept the faith in one another.

``Now, not only that, but we have the fire back. That's pretty cool,'' he said.

Marlin was fourth and Jarrett fifth. Last year's Southern 500 winner, Ward Burton, finished sixth. He was followed by Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Johnson and Jeff Burton.

Only weeks ago, Gordon seemed out of it, parked behind the consistent riding of Marlin.

But Gordon was the only one in the Hendrick race shop not in a panic during the long winless months, crew chief Robbie Loomis said. Gordon assured the team that all the hard work would soon pay off.

``When he keeps us calm and is in total control, he lets us do what we have to do,'' Loomis said.

Gordon's not so bad at what he does, either.

He pulled a classic bump-and-go on Rusty Wallace at the end to break the losing streak at Bristol on Aug. 24. This time, Gordon stayed patient until his No. 24 Chevrolet took to the soggy track.

Gordon led the final 64 laps. He showed his muscle on the final two restarts, pulling away from the field.

``Once I got clean air, it was just adios,'' Gordon said.

That's a bad sign for Marlin. He led 113 laps, nearly as many as Gordon's 125, but finished well behind.

Marlin hasn't won in 20 races since Darlington's spring event six months ago. But he's had nine top-10 finishes, including three in a row, to maintain the points lead. Who knows what might happen with a bit more pressure from Gordon.

``We'll just see,'' Marlin said. ``It looks like Jeff is getting on a roll here.''